


money can't buy me love

by woodchoc_magnum



Series: you can tell everybody this is your song [23]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Day At The Beach, Discussions of babies and surrogacy, Drunkenness, Firehouse 118 Crew as Family (9-1-1 TV), Fluff and Smut, Light Angst, M/M, Married Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Supportive Firehouse 118 Crew (9-1-1 TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 04:08:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30015915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woodchoc_magnum/pseuds/woodchoc_magnum
Summary: In which Buck and Eddie begin to have serious baby discussions, Eddie has a birthday, and Sophia and Maddie save the day.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: you can tell everybody this is your song [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816843
Comments: 42
Kudos: 346





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's time to start talking about babies!

**Sophia**

"Mommy," Lila whispered, patting her face. "Mommy. Wake up."

"Mmm."

"Wake up."

She murmured, batting small hands away, not opening her eyes. "What?"

"Can I have some toast?" Lila's face was near, her breath hot on Sophia's face.

"No."

_"Please?"_

"No."

"But Mom, I'm _hungry._ "

Sophia heaved a sigh, finally cracking her eyes open. Light was streaming in through the window, and when she glanced at the clock on the bedside table, she realised it was nearly six-thirty. "What are your uncles doing?"

"They're still _sleeping._ "

"They have to be at work in an hour," she grumbled, throwing the covers off. "Go wake up your brother and sister; I'll wake the boys up."

Lila slid off the bed and landed with a thump on the floor, scurrying out into the hall. Sophia pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail and examined her reflection in the mirror for a few unhappy moments – ugh, she looked _rough_ – and then pulled on her dressing gown and left the room.

Buck and Eddie's room was at the end of the hallway, and usually she had enough forethought to knock before entering, but she didn't even think before she opened the door. Thankfully, they were both still asleep – Eddie was lying almost on top of Buck, his head on his shoulder and one arm draped over his chest, and Buck had both arms around him in a loose hug, head to the side, snoring lightly.

Sophia leaned against the door, grinning at them affectionately. _What a pair of in-love dummies_ , she thought, and then rapped her knuckles on the door firmly. "Rise and shine!"

Both men snapped awake, blinking at her with surprise.

"It's _late_ ," she announced. "Did you forget to set an alarm?"

"We don't have to work until tonight," Buck retorted, and flung a pillow at her. "We set our alarm for 7am as a _treat_ , Sophia."

"Yeah," Eddie grumbled, hugging Buck close again. "Go away."

"What do you mean you're not working until tonight?" she demanded, her hands on her hips. "Aren't we supposed to discuss these things?"

Eddie groaned, burying his face in Buck's neck. Buck smoothed his hand down Eddie's naked back and said patiently, "We traded shifts so we could have Eddie's birthday off. And no, we don't need to discuss these things with you."

"What am I going to do?"

"Maddie's coming to stay here, because Chimney's working tonight as well," Eddie mumbled. "I thought she told you."

"Oh." Sophia nodded approvingly. "Sweet. That sounds great. All right, enjoy your sleep-in. Do you want me to wake Christopher?"

"He's already awake," Buck replied, gesturing to the lamp, which was illuminated a bright yellow. "He told us that he can manage on his own in the morning so we're letting him have his independence."

"He's only ten."

"He turns eleven in a few months," Eddie mumbled. "Go away. We still have time."

She heaved a sigh, looking up at the ceiling. "Is Buck cooking breakfast?"

Buck groaned, making a move as if to slide off the bed, but Eddie forcibly held him in place. "They want breakfast," he protested.

"They can wait _ten minutes_. Sophia, leave us alone and close the door."

Sophia drummed her fingernails on the wall, torturing them for a few more seconds, before huffing and flouncing out of the room, letting the door slam shut behind her.

She went into the bathroom to wash her face and try to wake up a bit, before rounding up her children and making sure they were all dressed and ready to go. By the time they went downstairs, Buck was already at the stove making scrambled eggs, and Christopher was sitting at the table, watching a YouTube video.

"Am I on toast duties?" Alex asked Buck hopefully, and he nodded, gesturing the loaf of bread on the counter.

"It's your day, kiddo, get to work," he said, adding some salt and pepper to the pan. "Soph, are you taking everyone to school, or do you want me to?"

"I am," she replied, already at the coffee machine. "I've got a shift this morning. What are you guys going to do?"

He glanced at her and mouthed, _'Baby stuff._ ' She nodded, leaning on the kitchen bench, watching as Lila wandered over to him and wrapped her arms around his leg.

"Hey," he said with surprise, glancing down at her. "What are you up to, munchkin?"

"I want to help," she said, her lower lip sticking out in a pout, gazing up at him with big brown eyes that he wouldn't be able to resist. "Can I help?"

"Oh, I _suppose_ ," he said with a sigh, as though she was asking _so much of him_ , and lifted her up easily, balancing her on his hip while he cooked. "All right, you see here? This is what the eggs are meant to look like. Nice and fluffy, not too runny. You want a taste?"

"Mom," Julia groaned. "Do I have to go to the dentist this afternoon? It doesn't even _hurt._ "

"Yes, you do," she said firmly, ignoring Alex snickering at his sister. "If you don't go to the dentist, all your teeth will turn black and fall out."

Julia huffed and folded her arms across her chest. Sophia watched Christopher sneak a worried look at Buck, who shook his head slightly to reassure him.

Eddie bustled into the kitchen, greeting Christopher with a kiss to the top of the head before making a beeline for the coffee maker. "Buck, you want a cappuccino?"

"That sounds great," he replied, lowering Lila to the floor. "You want some bacon?"

"Yep."

"I'll take some," Sophia spoke up, just to annoy her brother.

Eddie shook his head at Buck, who grinned. "I'd love to give you bacon, Soph," he teased, passing Alex the tub of butter, "but you sat us down not three nights ago and told us that under no circumstances are you allowed to eat anything fattening. I think bacon would be a violation of that."

"True," she agreed, sipping her coffee. "That's a fair point."

"What time does your shift start?" Christopher asked Eddie. "What time will you be home?"

"We start at five," he replied, "and we'll be home before you go to school tomorrow. Buck will make you breakfast."

"And we're picking you up from school this afternoon," Buck added, setting Lila on the floor, and picking up the frypan to dish out the eggs. "So you'll see us before work. Aunty Maddie and Charlotte are going to crash here tonight. You guys can have a big slumber party."

"The last one was a rager," Sophia teased Eddie, who glared at her. "You had a ball."

"No, I didn't," he replied shortly, setting a mug down on the bench near Buck. "Christopher's bedtime is nine, okay? Don't let him sweet talk you."

She made eye contact with Christopher, who grinned at her. She usually let him stay up until 9.30.

"I won't," she replied, and then said, "So about moving out…"

"We told you that you don't have to," Buck said, passing plates over to Alex and Julia. "You can stay as long as you like."

"Yeah, I know, but… as much as it pains me to admit this, I do feel kinda guilty about being here so long."

Eddie chuckled. "I thought you were enjoying torturing me."

"I am," she replied loftily. "But… I feel like we've invaded your space for so long…"

Buck and Eddie exchanged a look, and then Eddie said to her in a low voice, "You don't have to leave if you feel unsafe to be somewhere by yourself. You can stay as long as you like, Soph. I mean it."

She nodded, swallowing hard. "It's really okay?"

"Yes," he said, and squeezed her hand gently. "There's no rush."

She smiled at him gratefully. She hadn't told them that Martin had been texting her constantly and leaving threatening voicemails, but Maddie and Adriana were both aware, and they were keeping a record of everything. Buck and Eddie had enough on their plate as it was, and she didn't want to add to their worries.

"Soph," Buck said, passing a plate with toast, eggs and a surprise on top. "One strip of bacon."

She grinned at him, shaking her head good-naturedly. "Thanks."

He winked at her. "Don't mention it."

* * *

They were half an hour early for their appointment with the surrogacy agency. Buck pulled into a parking space out the front and glanced at Eddie, who was twisting his lips anxiously, his eyes trained on the building.

"It's okay," Buck said, but it was mostly for his own benefit. "It's fine. You're freaking me out."

Eddie flashed him a tense smile. "I really want this," he admitted. "I want it to work out."

"Why wouldn't it work out? We've done our research. We have eggs ready to go, and our background checks will be fine," Buck reassured him.

He nodded, looking over at the building again, eyebrows knitted together worriedly.

Buck glanced up and down the street and said, "We've got some time. There's a café over there – let's go chill out for a bit."

"Okay," Eddie agreed, and smiled at him again. "Sorry."

"Don't apologise to me. We're both nervous." Buck leaned over and kissed him tenderly. "Let's go."

~

Their meeting went for the full hour, and they discussed everything from their health to Sophia's health, to what they were looking for in a surrogate, and even Christopher's cerebral palsy.

By the end, one thing had become abundantly clear – the cost was exorbitant. Buck had been preparing himself for that, but when the numbers began to reach six digits, worry really set in. They had a house to pay off; they had Christopher's future to think about… plus anything else that might pop up along the way. What if one of them was injured again? What if they were off work for months? And there was a definite possibility that Christopher would require further surgeries; they'd been setting aside money for that as well.

They walked out of the agency with a folder full of information, both silent. Buck knew if Eddie took one look in his eyes, he'd realise that he was second-guessing, so he was fumbling for his sunglasses when Eddie suddenly grabbed his hand to stop him, forcing eye contact.

"It's too much," he said unhappily, cupping Buck's cheek. "Isn't it? We're going to blow through your inheritance on this."

"Even the payment plans are rough," he admitted, though he really, really didn't want to. "It's so expensive, Eddie. It's just… I don't know. I could ask my parents for money—"

"Don't you dare."

He sighed. "I could talk to Maddie?"

"No." Eddie shook his head, reaching out to take Buck's hand. "No. It's not going to happen right now - unless we win the lottery. And we don't buy tickets."

"I just… would feel really scared using all of our money for this one thing," Buck admitted. "Maybe we put it on hold for another year or two…"

"I'm getting older," Eddie pointed out, shrugging at him. "I'm 35 on Saturday."

"That's not old, babe."

"It's older than you, and the longer we wait, the older we're going to get." Eddie sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Okay. We just need to sit down and really work through this together. Let's get some lunch and go home."

Buck nodded, starting the car engine, before glancing at Eddie again. "I guess I just had this… idealised version in my head of how this would go—"

Eddie nodded, and leaned across to kiss him impulsively. "Me too." He pressed his forehead against Buck's briefly, and then brushed a kiss to his birthmark, before settling back in his seat. "Let's go. I want greasy nachos."

* * *

**Maddie**

The kids were all asleep, and Maddie poured Sophia another glass of wine and then settled into the armchair beside her. "Did Buck book the bar for Eddie's birthday?" she asked.

Sophia nodded, flashing a grin. "Eddie thinks they're just doing a family day thing – that's all he wanted, apparently, because he's boring and lame and annoying."

She laughed. "Oh, he just doesn't like attention, that's all it is. He doesn't need a lot of people around him, just Buck and Christopher, and he's happy."

"It's funny because like… he's always been a popular guy, and he makes friends really easily, but… to get to know him? That's hard work," Sophia said, tipping her glass at Maddie. "He keeps people at an arm's length until he really warms up to them."

"Not Buck," Maddie replied knowingly. "He let Buck in right away."

"Well, they're soul mates; that's why." Sophia's phone lit up, and she sighed, turning it facedown. "Martin messaged again asking to get back together."

"We can call Athena," Maddie said for what had to be the hundredth time. "We should tell Athena. It's part of the restraining order that he's not allowed to contact you."

"I don't want a fuss. It's bad enough that I've been here for so long because I'm too scared to leave, and I'm putting the boys out, and I just don't want them to worry about me more than they already are," she said unhappily. "I just want him to leave me alone."

"Change your number," Maddie suggested.

"Maybe." Sophia tapped her phone with her nails and murmured, "I really thought he'd find someone else and just move on."

Maddie lifted her shoulders helplessly. Martin wasn't Doug, that was for sure – but he was a main whose pride had been hurt, and he only had one person available to take his frustrations out on. To say she worried about Sophia was an understatement, which was why she was the one holding onto the screen shots and voicemails to send to Athena as soon as Sophia gave her the signal.

"I should just tell him to get on Tinder," Sophia murmured, sipping her wine again. "And leave me alone."

"Look, you know… things were different for me," Maddie said, and Sophia nodded at her unhappily. "I know it's not the same situation – _but_ this reads to me like escalation, and I really think you need to tell Athena. And Buck and Eddie."

She groaned, throwing her head back against the sofa cushion, frustrated. "I don't want them to worry."

"They're going to know something is up if he turns up here again," Maddie pointed out.

"I'll get rid of him," Sophia said determinedly, and when Maddie raised her eyebrows at her skeptically, she said, "No, I will. I'll get him to leave me alone."

"He may not take no for an answer."

Sophia shrugged. "He's just going to have to," she replied, effectively shutting down the discussion. "Anyway, the boys were pretty quiet this afternoon before work. I saw the bundle of stuff from the surrogacy agency on the table, but they hid it away before I could look through it."

Maddie laughed at her. "You're so nosy."

"Well, yeah, they're using my eggs." Sophia downed the last of her wine, tapping her nails on the stem of the glass, and then said, "But I bet the stuff is in their room."

Maddie shook her head warningly. "Soph…"

"I just want to look," Sophia hissed at her. "They won't know."

"I really don't think the boys would be too happy if we were rummaging through their bedroom – besides, I don't want to know what's in there!"

"They keep the sex toys hidden away," Sophia said dismissively, rising to her feet. "Let's go look."

"Sophia!" Maddie protested, but Sophia laughed at her and dashed over to the stairs.

Maddie sat for a moment, torn, and then decided she could only put a stop to it if she kept an eye on her. She grabbed the baby monitor from the coffee table and then followed Sophia up the stairs and down the hallway to the master bedroom.

She'd only been inside the room once, after Buck and Eddie had first moved in, but it looked completely different – the bed was neatly made and complete with a mountain of pillows (that was Buck's doing, she was sure); there was a display of framed photographs on the wall and a large painting of mountains and the beach behind the bed. A family portrait hung on the wall beside the bed – Buck, Eddie and Christopher, with Max the cat perched on Christopher's lap.

Sophia had found the folder with the surrogacy information and was on her knees on the floor, reading through it, her hand to her lips. "Do you have any idea how much this will cost?" she asked, looking up at Maddie with shocked eyes. "It's over a hundred grand."

Maddie winced. "Really? I mean… I know they used some of Buck's inheritance to buy this house and to pay some stuff off, but Buck said they invested the rest for the future."

Sophia pursed her lips, reading a piece of paper, and then shook her head. "Fuck."

"Soph…"

"No, they really want this, and… this is so expensive." She sighed heavily. "No wonder they were both so quiet this afternoon."

"They'll figure it out," Maddie said, trying to coax her out of the room. "Come on, Soph. Eddie won't want you in their room."

"No, I know." Sophia tucked everything away and returned the folder to its place on the dresser. She paused, examining the photos on the wall, and said quietly, "I really want this to happen for them."

"It will," Maddie replied, holding the door open for Sophia to step through. "It'll happen."

As they trooped back downstairs, Maddie thought, _I can make it happen for them._

She still had Doug's money sitting in an account, untouched. She hadn't been able to bring herself to use it – in the back of mind, she was setting it aside for a _reason_. She just hadn't figured out what that reason was.

Maybe it was for Buck.

* * *

A relatively busy evening at work had segued into a mostly peaceful late night. The rest of the team were trying to get some sleep, so Buck and Eddie were alone together on the balcony. Buck had spent the last few weeks devouring books about surrogacy, trying to prepare himself, but that was the last thing he wanted to read. A few weeks earlier he'd picked up a copy of Stephen King's _It_ at a flea market for a dollar, but the book had been sitting in his locker ever since. He needed something to take his mind off everything, and had quickly become engrossed in the story, curled up in the armchair while Eddie worked on their budget on his laptop at the table.

After realising the room had been silent for several minutes, Buck glanced over at him curiously. Eddie was practically falling asleep, his head drooping, chin almost touching his chest. "Babe, that's enough for tonight. Come on."

He jerked awake, blinking sleepily, and looked over at Buck. "Huh?"

"You're falling asleep," he replied gently. "Come here."

Eddie nodded, yawning. He rubbed his face with both hands and then closed the laptop. "I just can't wrap my head around how we can make this work right now."

"I know," Buck murmured, patting the armrest. "Come here, all right? Come on. You're exhausted."

Eddie looked like he wanted to protest, but he stood, stretching his arms over his head before wandering over to him. "Will this be comfortable?" he asked, and Buck nodded, shifting so that Eddie could sit beside him with his legs over Buck's lap. Buck's arm went around his back, and Eddie leaned against him, resting his head on his shoulder.

Buck kissed his forehead and opened the book again, trailing his fingers up and down Eddie's spine. Eddie sighed, splaying his hand on Buck's chest, toying with the buttons on his shirt.

"Is it a good book?" Eddie asked quietly.

Buck nodded. "It is, but I'm a little freaked out."

"Aw." Eddie tilted his head up and pressed a kiss to the corner of Buck's mouth. "It's just a book."

"Yeah, but clowns are kinda creepy… especially when they're like, snatching kids into open sewers, and ripping arms off and stuff. All the kids in this book are around Christopher's age and they're dying horribly."

"And you're still reading because…"

"It's a page-turner," Buck said emphatically, and Eddie laughed. "I can't put it down, but… I don't think I want to watch the movie."

"We wouldn't have time anyway," Eddie pointed out. "Or privacy. I don't really want to traumatise all the children in our house."

"Me either." Buck turned the page, resting his chin atop Eddie's head. "You okay?"

Eddie was quiet for a moment. "I have to be, don't I? There's no way around it. We just wait another year."

"And save."

"No holidays."

Buck shook his head. "No. Just camping."

"Just camping." Eddie sighed heavily. "I feel like… this is my idea, and your hopes are up and…"

"It's just one of those things," Buck said gently. "We can't rob a bank to make this happen."

"Hey, that's a thought."

"Mmm, you'd look good as a bank robber." Buck kissed his forehead, and whispered, "As long as I have you and Christopher, I'm fine, my love. We're fine."

Eddie smiled sadly at him. "I love you."

"I love you too," Buck replied softly, leaning in to kiss his lips gently. "We're going to be okay."

* * *

**Chimney**

He yawned, cutting through the station on the way to the balcony. He'd been trying to get some sleep in the bunk room, but _someone_ was snoring – he suspected Bobby – and it was driving him nuts.

So he figured he'd go up to the balcony and maybe catch some Z's on the couch – at least until the alarm went off again – but he wasn't expecting to find Buck and Eddie curled up in the armchair together. Eddie was sitting with his legs across Buck's lap, his head on his shoulder, sleeping soundly, but Buck was reading and running his fingers through Eddie's hair absently.

"Hey," Chimney whispered to him, and Buck lowered the book and smiled. "He's wiped out?"

"He fell asleep before we could head to the bunks," he whispered back. "So I just decided to stay here."

"You should get some rest."

Buck glanced at his watch. "I'm okay for now. How come you're up here?"

"Someone's snoring," he replied, flopping onto the couch, and tucking a pillow under his head.

"Bobby," Buck said knowingly.

Chimney nodded ruefully. "He says it's not him, but…"

"It's definitely him."

Eddie shifted in his sleep. He had one arm draped across Buck's chest and the other hand tucked under his chin, and Buck rubbed his back soothingly.

"Have you heard from Maddie?" Buck asked him in a low voice.

Chimney nodded. "They went to bed a couple of hours ago. Everything was okay."

"Good." Buck closed the book, shifting slightly, his arm dropping so it was around Eddie's waist. "I've booked the bar for Saturday night – he has no idea, so don't tell him."

"I can keep my mouth shut about some things," Chimney retorted, trying to keep his voice low. "Sometimes."

Buck grinned. "Yeah, sometimes. You and Albert are as bad as each other."

"It's the Han family way." Chimney eyed him, and then said, "Are you guys okay? You've been quiet all night."

"Um… just this surrogacy stuff," Buck said quietly. "It's a lot more expensive than we thought... it was a shock."

Chimney winced. "I'm sorry, man. I'm really sorry."

Buck shrugged. "It's one of those things… we'll be okay," he said, examining Eddie with a soft smile. "As long as we have each other, we're fine."

Eddie suddenly let out a snuffle and lifted his head, looking around in confusion. "What?"

"Nothing," Buck murmured, kissing his cheek.

Eddie regarded him sleepily and then murmured, "Time?"

"Nearly 1am. You want to move to the bunks?"

He nodded, clumsily dragging himself out of Buck's lap and then standing, raking his fingers through his hair. Buck stood as well, stretching his back, and grabbed his book and phone.

"Which bunk is Bobby in?" he asked Chimney.

"Closest to the door – your usual one at the end is free."

"Great." Buck slipped his arm around Eddie's waist, wandering over to the stairs with him. "Get some sleep, Chim."

"You too," he replied, watching as they went down the stairs together.

He settled down on the couch, worried for the boys, and sent Maddie a message. _Just talked to Buck – looks like they're putting the baby plans on hold. We should keep an eye on them and make sure they're okay._

* * *

Eddie held the door open for Buck to enter the house, yawning widely. They'd slept from 1am to almost 4am until the alarms had sounded, but that was it for sleep. Buck was almost dead on his feet, but when Christopher emerged, beaming at them happily, he instantly perked up.

"Hey buddy," Buck said, bending over to give Christopher a hug. "Did you have good night?"

"It was fine." Christopher waited for Eddie to finish removing his shoes, and then let out a giggle when Eddie dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around him.

"What time did you go to bed?" Eddie murmured in his ear.

"Nine thirty."

"That's not what we agreed."

"Aunt Sophia said it was fine."

"Aunt Sophia is a troublemaker." Eddie kissed his cheek and stood. "What's for breakfast?"

"Aunt Maddie's cooking," Christopher replied, following Buck into the kitchen. "She said she would make pancakes for everyone."

"Maddie's famous pancakes!" Buck exclaimed, suddenly wide awake, greeting his sister with a hug and a kiss. "My favourite."

"Thought I'd give you a break," she said affectionately, patting his back. "How was your shift?"

"It wasn't too bad," Buck replied, stealing a smaller pancake from the pile on the plate. "Where are Soph and the kids?"

"Upstairs getting ready." Maddie glanced around, and then crooked her finger at Eddie. "I couldn't stop her."

Concerned, he asked, "From what?"

"She went looking for your surrogacy stuff," she said in a low voice. "I can't stop your sisters from doing anything, Eddie. They're like a pair of steamrollers."

He just rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Okay. Thanks for telling me."

"I'm sorry," she apologised, touching his arm. "I really tried."

"It's okay." Eddie shrugged at her. "We haven't made a decision yet."

Buck glanced at him briefly and nodded once. They'd keep their decision to put things on hold for now – they'd tell the others later, when things weren't quite so raw.

* * *

After breakfast, Buck carried Maddie's bag out to her car, making faces at Charlotte over Maddie's shoulder as he followed them down the driveway. Charlotte was giggling, and before Maddie could strap her into her car seat, she passed her over to Buck, who hugged her and smacked a kiss to her cheek. "Mwah!"

"Mwah," Charlotte echoed, grabbing his nose with her fingers. "Mwah!"

"Mwah," he agreed, and kissed her again. "You be good, kiddo. I'll see you next week."

She beamed at him, and he passed her over to Maddie, trying to ignore the ache in his gut. Maddie strapped her in, blowing raspberries at her, before straightening up.

"I'm really sorry I couldn't stop Sophia," she said, leaning on the car door.

"It's fine – we know exactly what Sophia is like," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Can't help herself. Eddie will say something to her."

"Good." Maddie glanced at him uncertainly. "Is everything okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's fine."

"You're disappointed, though."

"I am, but… I have a house full of kids, and I have an awesome niece, and a son, and the hottest man on the planet," he replied. "And a cat."

"So many things," she agreed, "including the world's best sister."

"That too." Buck pulled her in for a hug. "So it's okay. Don't worry about us, we're fine. Me and Eddie – we're good."

"As long as you're sure." Maddie kissed his cheek. "I'll see you on Saturday night for the big party. He has no idea, right?"

"Not a clue."

* * *

While Buck was out at the car with Maddie, and the kids were distracted getting ready for school, Eddie pounced on the opportunity to speak to his younger, meddling, annoying sister one-on-one. She was at the mirror in the bathroom with the door open, and he thumped his hand against the wall and said pointedly, "Something you want to confess to me?"

Sophia arched her eyebrows at him and folded her arms across her chest defensively. "No."

Two could play at that game. He mimicked her stance, using his height to his advantage, and said, "Want to guess again?"

She narrowed her eyes. "No."

"I know you went snooping."

She opened her mouth to protest, but then groaned, stomped her foot and said, "Maddie Buckley is a big tattle-tale."

"She's got a conscience, unlike you," he retorted. "I told you not to go into our room."

"Oh my god, it's just a bedroom, it’s not like you've got whips and chains in there," she retorted, but then eyed him suspiciously. "Do you?"

"No!"

"Just checking." Sophia began to pull her hair back into a ponytail, focused on her reflection in the mirror, purposely not looking at him.

Eddie leaned against the wall and said, "Why are you so interested?"

"Because you want my eggs," she retorted. "Don't you?"

He paused – that had been the plan, but… now everything had changed. She glanced at him questioningly, and he finally said, "That was the idea, if you're still okay with it."

"I know, and the offer still stands," Sophia replied, examining her reflection in the mirror before sliding two bobby pins into her hair to hold it in place. She admired her bouncy ponytail, nodding at herself, and then said, "Look, you two just looked so defeated and I was worried about you, okay?"

He nodded slowly, pursing his lips. "Did you tell Adriana?"

"No, because I knew she'd yell at me for being a snoop." Sophia picked up a tube of lipstick, glancing at him again. "I know you can't afford it, Eddie."

He sighed, and then shook his head once.

"What are you going to do?" she asked curiously.

"Wait another year; save up," he said, though there was no conviction to his words. They weren't going to be able to afford it in one year, or two, but… he just hadn't quite admitted defeat yet.

She nodded slowly. "Okay. Good thing you didn't make any big announcements about doing this."

"No, we knew we needed to get all the information first. I knew it would be expensive, I guess I didn't think it would be both our yearly salaries, and then some."

"And then you gotta buy baby stuff." Sophia gave him a long look, and without warning, wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "It'll be okay, big bro. You guys will have a baby together."

"Oh yeah, you want to snap your fingers and materialise one for us?"

She laughed. "I'll see what I can do."

~

An hour later, the house was empty. Buck and Eddie showered together, trading hot kisses under the spray. Eddie wanted him – needed the reassurance that only Buck could provide, pulling him close and running his hands all over his body.

"You okay?" Buck murmured in his ear, and he nodded, pressing his lips to his shoulder. "You sure?"

"Yeah." Eddie pulled away from him, gazing up into his concerned blue eyes. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry."

"I'm trying to be tough."

Buck's lips quirked into a sad smile. "You never have to be tough with me. It's okay to be disappointed."

He nodded, running his thumbs along Buck's pronounced collarbones. The water cascaded over them, and his skin broke into goosebumps – he licked his lips, and then leaned in to suck a small love bite at the base of Buck's neck.

Buck slid his hands across Eddie's back and then reached over to shut the water off, before cupping the back of his head and pulling him in for another kiss. He just wanted Buck, all over him, and he murmured against his lips, "Please."

Buck nodded, breaking away from his lips to press soft kisses to his cheeks, before dropping down to his knees, and taking Eddie's cock into his mouth. Eddie twisted his fingers in Buck's hair and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes, losing himself in the sensation. Buck licked a long stripe up the underside of his cock and rolled his tongue over the head – but Eddie felt him press his thumb on the sensitive spot between his legs and couldn't stop the moan that rolled out of him.

That was all the invitation Buck needed – he broke away long enough to grab a bottle of lube they kept hidden away at the top of the medicine cabinet, before returning to his side and greeting him with an open kiss. Eddie sucked his bottom lip and then pulled away, gazing up at him seriously, and Buck leaned in to bestow a kiss to his nose before dropping to his knees again.

Eddie turned around, facing the wall, breathing deeply. Buck wasted no time, and Eddie felt his teeth graze his lower back before he bit down on his right butt cheek, sucking a bruise, before soothing the spot with kisses. Eddie reached between his legs, stroking himself, and when Buck spread him open and licked between his cheeks, he shivered all over.

He would never say it out loud, but it was favourite thing – the most intimate, private thing, that he would only ever let Buck do to him. He was like putty in Buck's hands, face pressed against the wall, unable to stop the noises from escaping his lips. Buck was inside him, and he was shaking, stroking himself faster – until Buck reached around to still his hand, pulling away. Suddenly empty, Eddie murmured unhappily, and then gasped when two slick fingers slid inside.

"Oh, _god,_ " he groaned.

"Good?" Buck's lips brushed against his lower back.

"Yeah, don't stop," he said breathlessly. "I need you."

"You have me." Buck kissed him again, rising to his feet, pressing up against him as he carefully stretched him open. "You're so fucking hot."

Eddie let out a laugh, leaning against him. "Yeah, you like this, huh?"

Buck's teeth nipped at his ear before he whispered hotly, "I'm going to make you feel so good, babe."

He turned his head to the side, and Buck kissed him, crooking his fingers just right to flick over his prostate and make him jump. "More," he moaned against Buck's lips. "Baby…"

"Steady, okay? It's been a while." Buck kissed him again reassuringly.

Eddie closed his eyes, breathing heavily – he could feel Buck's cock brush against his lower back and pushed back against him insistently.

"It's okay," Buck said in his ear, thrusting his fingers in and out. "I promise you, I'm going to make you feel so good, Eds. I promise."

"I'm holding you to that," he replied, his voice hitching. "Oh god."

Buck's teeth nipped at the curve of his shoulder before he whispered in his ear, "You're so fucking tight, holy shit. You remember the first time I did this?"

Eddie shuddered at the memory; the way Buck had claimed him – the way he'd felt, like his whole world had completely changed. "Please – bedroom, okay? Bedroom. I want you in bed."

"You can have me in bed." Buck added some more lube and a third finger, and Eddie closed his eyes again. "I'm going to take care of you today, all right? I love you so much, Eddie."

He nodded, leaning back against him. "I love you too."

Buck kissed his neck again, and then reached for a towel with one hand. He draped it around Eddie's shoulders, and then carefully withdrew his fingers. They quickly dried each other off and then hurried down to the bedroom – Buck climbed onto the bed first and leaned against the cushions, slicking up his cock with lube, and Eddie straddled his hips and bent down to kiss him, cupping his face with both hands.

"Ready?" Buck whispered, and Eddie nodded, positioning himself. Buck pressed the head of his cock against his whole, and Eddie sank down onto it, tilting his head back and letting out a long groan. Buck pressed a hand to his chest, smiling up at him. "God, you look good."

Eddie laughed. "Do I?"

"Oh yeah." Buck smoothed both hands across his chest, running his fingers over the three hearts tattooed on his ribs. "I'm the luckiest."

"I am," he murmured, and leaned into kiss him again. He rolled his hips, testing, and then began to move, slowly but surely, grinding on top of him. There was no urgency; no need to hurry – Buck's hands wandered all over his body as he rocked his hips back and forth, and then up and down, just enjoying the ripples of pleasure rolling through his body.

Buck leaned in to suck his nipple, and then bit down, sucking a bruise. Eddie cupped the back of his head and slowed his movements, grinding down onto him.

Buck looked up at him, his blue eyes filled with intensity, and slid his hands down Eddie's sides to hold onto his hips. Eddie leaned in to kiss him softly, and when they parted, he said, "No matter what happens, we always have each other."

Buck nodded, kissing him again. "I've said it to you before," he whispered. "You and Christopher are enough for me."

"You're enough for us," Eddie agreed, smiling at him reassuringly. "I adore you."

Buck's eyes shone. "I adore _you_ ," he whispered, in a voice filled with devotion. "And god, Eddie, you're so fucking tight - holy shit, this is amazing. _Fuck._ "

He laughed, kissing him again. "It feels pretty fucking good."

It was one of the more languid, unhurried orgasms he'd had in a long time – the intensity gradually built until they were gasping and moving together on the bed, when all of a sudden pleasure burst throughout his body. He came between them, locked in an embrace, and as he shuddered with the force of his orgasm, Buck quickly followed, finding Eddie's mouth in an open, messy kiss.

They relaxed for a few moments, lying together on the bed, kissing softly, until they reluctantly had to move to clean themselves up. Eddie returned to the bedroom first and pulled the blinds, climbing back into the bed, and after a moment Buck joined him with two bottles of water. He slid in beside him and set an alarm on his phone, before spooning up behind him and kissing the back of his neck.

Eddie closed his eyes, but sleep was slow to arrive – he felt Buck's breathing deepen; felt him become a heavy weight surrounding him as he drifted off to sleep, but Eddie remained awake, gazing at the family portrait on the wall by the bed.

He would have to accept it, he decided, pulling Buck's hand up his chest, pressing his lips to his fingertips. It stung, sure, but he'd been through worse.

He just wished he could erase the fantasy of a little blue-eyed mini-Buck running around, keeping them on their toes, making them laugh… he'd wanted so badly for a second chance; to be there for every single moment that he missed out on with Christopher. He wanted that.

It wasn't going to happen, and he would allow himself time to mourn, before settling on a new fantasy. Maybe once Christopher was old enough to attend college, he and Buck would do some travelling, and see the world together.

That could be fun too.

* * *

**Sophia**

"I don't understand," Adriana practically barked into the phone. "Talk me through it again. Why were you snooping through Eddie's stuff?"

"I knew you'd be mad about that," Sophia retorted, flopping onto her bed with the phone to her ear. "I was worried about them. They seemed a little deflated."

"Why?"

"Surrogacy is so expensive. Like, six figures expensive. And they've already sunk a lot of money into this place, and they pick up extra shifts all the time – they can't afford it."

Adriana paused, and then said, "Fuck. Well, I can't have another baby – the doctors told me after the second one that I was done. Grant had a vasectomy – best decision we ever made, let me tell you."

"No one's asking you to have a baby," Sophia retorted, running her fingers through her long dark hair absently. "But I can have another one. My oven's good to go."

"No, Soph," Adriana said instantly. "No."

"Why not? It'd be much cheaper than them going to a surrogate. Cut out the middleman. I could do it again, you know."

Adriana gave a disbelieving laugh. "You? Do it again? Soph, the last time you were pregnant you grabbed me by the shirt collar while you were in labour and growled at me – like you were possessed by the devil – that you would never do this again in your life and that you hated Martin and you just wanted the alien out of you. You made that poor, sweet male nurse cry—"

Sophia groaned. "Don't bring him up again. What a dweeb."

"You didn't have to call him a dweeb to his face!"

"He tried to mansplain giving birth to me like I hadn't done it two times before!" she snapped. "Do not defend that weird little man."

"Fine," Adriana replied evenly. "But you did swear you'd never do it again. You hated being pregnant the third time."

"Lila was a wriggler and she was always kicking me," Sophia complained.

"And you pooped."

"Everyone poops, Adriana. Don't body shame me," she shot back.

"I'm just saying, I remember the birth of Lila very vividly because you made me be there for the whole damn thing." Something crashed in the background, and Adriana swore, and then whispered into the phone, "I would very much like for whoever the person is in this house who keeps putting the pots and pans back in haphazardly to know untold suffering."

"It's probably Grant," she replied with a grin.

"Yeah, exactly." A door slammed shut, and then Adriana said, "Okay, why are you thinking about doing this? Walk me through the reasoning."

Sophia twirled her hair around her finger and said, "Because… it's something I can do for them, and they would know that even though I'm tough to live with, I really appreciate them letting me stay here, rent-free."

"You're not paying rent?"

"No, I give them money for groceries and electricity, but I'm not paying rent. And they keep saying that I can stay here as long as I want. They put in a whole security system for me; they furnished the bedrooms so that the kids would be comfortable… like… they've gone above and beyond what I ever expected. And I mean, I know when they have a baby that we'll have to find our own place, but… I could do this for them, and it wouldn't cost them six fucking figures. That is so much money."

"Yeah, but you'll have to put your life on pause again," Adriana pointed out.

She shook her head. "No, I won't."

"What, you're going to… plan Maddie's wedding, continue working as a 911 operator, study and be pregnant all at the same time? Soph… Eddie is not going to let you do this."

"It's nine months of my life," Sophia replied, "and at the end of it, they will get a baby."

Adriana exhaled. "Sophia. The baby will not be yours. You'll carry the baby for nine months and it's going to feel like yours, but it'll be theirs. You cannot get attached. Are you sure you can possibly do this?"

She'd thought about that, once or twice – worried about it, but ultimately she thought she could be pragmatic about it. It wouldn't be her baby, even though they were her eggs. She would just have to look at it like she was a very specific sort of oven.

She could see the disappointment written all over their faces – it was in the way they kept sneaking glances at each other; the way Eddie pressed against Buck whenever he could, and the way Buck reassured him with touch and affection. They were always tactile – that was one thing that amused her to no end, how much they loved _being together_. She had no doubt that Eddie had loved Shannon, but his love for Buck was something else entirely – he was a different person with Buck, soft and sweet.

All she'd ever wanted was for Eddie to be happy. She'd watched him do what he thought was his duty, watched him go to war and almost come back in a coffin – she remembered that night, when they heard rumours about a helicopter crash through the family Facebook page for Eddie's squadron, realised they couldn't get through to Eddie and had to wait hours for confirmation that he was alive. She remembered Shannon weeping, trying to shield Christopher from it – she remembered thinking to herself that if he came back alive, there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for him.

And he did, and he was finally happy, with the person he was always meant to be with – and she finally had her chance to give him his new dream.

"Eddie has always wanted a big family," she replied. "He's always wanted another child. They want this, and I can give it to them. I really want to do it."

Adriana groaned. "Okay, okay – fine, but listen to me very carefully, all right? This is not a decision you make lightly. I want you to take a few days and really think about what this will mean. You're putting their future into your hands – if you change your mind, you'll devastate them."

"I won't change my mind," she said confidently.

Adriana groaned. "Please, please take a few days to think about it. Please. That's all I ask."

Sophia heaved a disgruntled sigh. Her plan had been to make the offer to them on Eddie's birthday, but annoyingly, Adriana was making a lot of sense. "Okay," she agreed. "I'll think about it some more."

* * *

Buck awoke before Eddie on his birthday, reluctantly settling for watching him sleep instead of waking him with soft kisses. He had a plan, and it involved Eddie still being asleep.

Still, he couldn’t resist pressing one teeny kiss to his nose before sliding out of bed carefully. He left the room, ducking into the bathroom first before padding down the stairs to check on Christopher. He pushed open the door, and found him sitting up in bed, his hair sticking out in all directions.

"Hey Buck," Christopher greeted him happily. "Max barfed."

Sure enough, there was a fur ball lying right near the bottom of the cat tree, and an impassive-looking cat seated at the head of Christopher's bed, licking one paw nonchalantly.

Buck rolled his eyes, and then said, "I'll take care of it. You wash up and meet me in the kitchen in ten minutes."

Christopher grinned, rising to his feet. "You got it, partner."

Buck gave him double finger guns, and then ducked out of the room to grab some cleaning supplies from the kitchen. He cleaned up the mess, grumbling at Max, who completely ignored him in favour of licking his butt. He then immediately jumped off the bed and followed Buck out to the kitchen, taking his spot on the table to watch the breakfast preparation with interest.

Buck grabbed the ingredients out of the fridge, humming to himself. The only thing Eddie had wanted for his birthday was to go to the beach; but that had been a little too low-key for such an important birthday (and really, weren't all of Eddie's birthdays important?). They'd go to the beach and do everything Eddie wanted, and then they'd go to a nice, civilised party afterwards. It was the best of both worlds, and it had been a long time since they had relaxed at a bar with a few drinks, danced and let their hair down.

Buck was already pouring the batter into the waffle maker when Christopher appeared, stopping to pat Max before joining Buck at the counter. "What can I do?"

"You're on fruit duty, buddy," Buck said, and paused to grab a cutting board, knife and strawberries, setting Christopher up at the table. "Chop them up for me."

"I'm on it." Christopher sat at the table and began to cut them the way he'd been taught, so as not to hurt himself. Buck kept one eye on him and another on the waffles. He melted some chocolate in the microwave and poured it into a little jug, then added a second jug of maple syrup, before arranging the perfectly golden waffles onto a plate. He took the strawberries from Christopher and arranged them into the shape of a heart, sprinkled a little powdered sugar over the top and arranged the jugs and a cup of coffee on the tray, before turning to his helper with raised eyebrows. "Ready?"

"Ready," Christopher agreed, leading him to the stairs.

He waited while Christopher opened the door and tiptoed inside, but as soon as Buck set foot in the room he realised Eddie was awake and waiting for them, though pretending to be asleep. Christopher had a huge smile on his face as he snuck up to the side of the bed, and when he leapt onto Eddie with an excited shout, Eddie was ready for him, sweeping him up in a hug as Christopher screeched and began to giggle helplessly.

"I heard you coming a mile away!" Eddie boasted, smacking a kiss to the top of Christopher's head. "You two can't fool me."

"We came pretty close," Buck replied, holding the tray up. "Breakfast in bed. Happy birthday, my love."

"Happy birthday, Dad!" Christopher exclaimed.

Eddie was smiling broadly, hugging Christopher close. "Thank you," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "This is exactly what I wanted."

"Buck made waffles and he said I can have some," Christopher said to him, shifting over on the bed.

"I think I can find it in my heart to share," Eddie replied, stuffing a couple of pillows behind his back and grinning at Buck when he placed the tray over his lap. "Thank you, baby."

"You're welcome," Buck replied, leaning in to kiss him sweetly. "I love you."

"I love you too." Eddie nodded at him, and then licked his lips. "All right, what have we got here?"

He devoured breakfast – and was good enough to share his waffles with Christopher, who liked the little pot of melted chocolate more than anything else.

Buck removed the tray and brought in his presents next. Eddie opened them eagerly - he'd requested some new clothes, so Buck and Sophia had gone shopping together and picked him out some new outfits, and Buck had every intention of forcing him to model them when they had time. Buck had also picked out another nipple ring for him, and when Eddie located that little package, he raised his eyebrows at Buck approvingly and gave him an appreciative kiss.

Christopher's present was a little more personal – he'd been using watercolours at school, and had painted a picture of his favourite magic beach. Buck found a nice wooden frame for it, and Christopher presented it to his father proudly.

"This is so beautiful," Eddie said in a hushed tone, running his fingers over the glass. "You're getting so good at this, Chris. We'll hang it on our wall so we can see it all the time. I love it."

Christopher beamed with pride and threw his arms around Eddie in a hug. Buck quickly snapped a picture and posted it on Instagram – the first of many for the day, he was sure.

From there they packed their beach bags and departed the house. Sophia was meeting up with Maddie and Chimney to take the kids to an indoor trampoline centre, and when they left, the kids were almost literally bouncing off the walls with excitement. Buck was a little jealous (he would've liked to spend some time on the trampolines), but mostly relieved that he wouldn't have three incredibly hyperactive children to deal with.

They swung into the deli to pick up their packed lunches from Milo, who passed Christopher a bag of mixed candy and a chocolate bar, and then rummaged around for more treats until Eddie laughingly put a stop to it. With a packed cooler, they hit the road an hour south to a more secluded beach. It was great for swimming; the swells weren't too rough, and it was a nice warm April day. They found a spot on the sand and erected their umbrella, laid out their towels, and slathered on some sunscreen.

"I'm going to lie out in the sun," Eddie said, carefully applying sunscreen to Christopher's face. "You guys go for a swim and I'll join you later."

Buck gave him a warning look. "Do not sunbake for too long, Eds. I mean it."

"I'm putting sunscreen on," Eddie protested. "I just want to brown up a bit."

"Yeah, yeah. You need to take care of your skin." Buck grabbed the tube of sunscreen and lunged at Eddie, who laughed and tried to scramble away.

Christopher was giggling as they wrestled on the sand. Buck finally gained the upper hand, pinning Eddie down and pouring some sunscreen into his hand. Eddie glared up at him, amused but also a little annoyed, and grudgingly allowed Buck to rub the cream onto his skin.

"Better," Buck said, satisfied, glancing over at Christopher. "All right, kiddo, let's hit the surf!"

* * *

Eddie relaxed on the towel, basking in the sunshine while taking photos as his husband and son played with their boogie boards in the surf. Buck was never too far from Christopher – they would take waves together, laughing as they rode them into the shallows. Buck would then load Christopher onto his back – he was unsteady when walking in the water – and swim out with him again, dragging his board behind.

After forty minutes of sunbaking, Eddie was sufficiently warm, and jogged down to the water's edge just as they were coasting back in together. Buck rose to his feet, pushing his wet hair off his forehead and then flashing Eddie a smile. "You want to boogie with me?"

Eddie shook his head. "I was thinking maybe you two just needed to relax for a bit."

"Yeah, maybe," Buck agreed, helping Christopher to stand upright. "We could go float out where it's a bit calmer. This kid needs a break."

Christopher nodded, hanging onto Buck's arm. Eddie waded out to them, pecking a kiss to Buck's lips before lowering himself into the water so Christopher could climb on his back. "All right, let's go."

They took the boards with them and swam out to where it was a little deeper. Christopher transferred onto his board, grinning at them, and Buck wrapped the cord around his wrist so they'd stay together, and then pulled Eddie into an embrace.

"Good birthday?" he asked, water drops clinging to his eyelashes.

Eddie nodded, and kissed him sweetly. "Great birthday."

~

They ate lunch and chilled out for a bit. Christopher slept, his head on Buck's stomach, and Buck read for awhile, his head on _Eddie's_ stomach. Eddie ran his fingers through Buck's damp hair and tried to ignore the ache in his gut that suggested he should want something more than this.

_This_ was perfect; what he'd always wanted. His son and his husband – all three of them together, happy and healthy. Life was great.

So why the hell did he want more?

And why did he keep running through scenarios in his head, trying to figure out a way they could afford to have another baby? He was sort of envious of heterosexual couples – he and Shannon had put absolutely zero thought into anything before they'd fallen pregnant with Christopher.

He and Buck needed over a hundred thousand dollars just to have one baby. It wasn't fair.

He'd even begun looking into adoption and had almost immediately ruled it out. The waiting lists were enormous, there were no guarantees, and it would also cost a small fortune – more than what they had.

The whole thing just seemed entirely out of reach, and he needed to let it go. He just had to let it go.

Buck shifted, glancing up at him. "Stop," he murmured, reaching a hand up to touch Eddie's cheek. "You're clenching your jaw again."

"Sorry," he murmured, brushing his fingers through Buck's curls. "I'm just… trying to come up with a miracle, I guess."

Buck gazed at him sadly. "We'll figure it out."

He nodded, but short of a miracle or a sudden windfall, there was nothing to figure out. They couldn't afford to have a baby together. That was just a fact.

~

Eddie had suspected Buck had something else up his sleeve for his birthday, but he'd forgotten to be suspicious while they were at the beach, and it was only when Buck made a wrong turn on the way home that he realised something was up.

"Where are we going?" he demanded, turning to Buck with raised eyebrows.

"Pepa's. Christopher is having a sleepover," Buck replied, flashing him a grin.

"Yeah, we're gonna eat fried chicken!" Christopher exclaimed. "She's making it from scratch!"

"We? Who else is going?" Eddie asked Buck.

Buck glanced at the time on the dashboard and said, "Soph should be dropping off the kids right about now as well."

He groaned. "What have you planned? I told you I just wanted a beach day!"

"Just a very small, casual, intimate get together with all your friends," Buck replied. "Nothing to worry about, but it's adults only."

"Oh yeah? And where is this happening?"

"At the bar." Buck glanced at Christopher in the rear-view mirror. "Hey kiddo, you snag some of that chicken for us, okay? Remember I put that container in your bag."

"I'm on it," Christopher agreed.

"Good man." Buck grinned at Eddie. "I _love_ Pepa's fried chicken."

~

They dropped Christopher off, but stayed long enough so that Eddie could open the present from his aunt – a handmade quilt for their bedroom. Eddie kissed her on the cheek while Buck reiterated the importance of the fried chicken to Christopher, and they left, heading back across town to their house.

"You didn't have to plan anything; I thought we were just having a quiet night at home," Eddie said, resting his hand on Buck's thigh. "I was gonna take you to bed and have my way with you."

"You can definitely still do that, but… it was pointed out to me that last year we didn't celebrate any of our birthdays here with our friends, and so… this year I thought we should probably rectify that. Plus, I like seeing you all dressed up, especially when you're looking so nice and tanned."

Mollified, Eddie squeezed his leg. "All right, but we're not getting drunk."

Buck shook his head. "No, we're definitely not."

"So we're going to avoid Sophia—"

"Right, because she's the devil," he agreed.

"And we're going to pace ourselves," Eddie continued. "Just beer."

"Just beer."

"So we can come home sober, and I can still have my way with you."

Buck grinned at him. "Right."

"Right." Eddie reached out and rested his hand on his leg. "Why'd you do this?"

"I didn't. The team wanted you to have a birthday party," he replied, "and what was I going to say? No? Eddie doesn't like it when his friends are thoughtful and considerate?"

"Yeah, exactly that," he teased. "This is getting in the way of me—"

"Having your way with me, I know," Buck replied with a laugh. "I know, babe, but… I want to dance with you."

Eddie smiled. How could he argue with that? They were stopped at a light, so he leaned over and kissed Buck sweetly. "I'll dance with you all night."

"And then," Buck murmured against his lips, "you can have your way with me."

"Deal."

~

"Pre-drinks!" Sophia shouted as they walked through the door, holding up two margarita glasses. "Come on, let's party!"

"Oh god," Eddie groaned, but Buck was already accepting one of the glasses eagerly. "Soph, we're not getting drunk tonight."

"Oh, will you just let your hair down for once in your life," she admonished him, pressing the glass into his hand. "Oh, and also – I bought a new dress, and I need you two to tell me if it looks good. _Or_ if it looks like I'm a nearly 40—"

"You're _younger than me_ ," Eddie snapped at her.

She continued unabated. "Nearly 40, saggy, old, desperate, pathetic—"

"You are none of those things," Buck cut in, sliding an arm around her shoulders. "You're a total smoke-show."

Sophia sighed. "My boobs are sagging, Buck."

Eddie covered his ears, heading for the stairs. "I don't want to be here for this. I can't talk about your boobs, Soph!"

"Martin wanted me to get surgery," he heard her say to Buck, "because he thought they were saggy. This is what breast-feeding does, you know? They suck the life out of your tits. I never used to have to wear a bra!"

Eddie sipped his drink and went into the bathroom, shaking his head bitterly – relieved for the millionth time that Sophia was finally away from her miserable excuse for a husband. He set his glass down on the cabinet and stripped out of his clothes, and then examined his reflection in the mirror. He was covered in a light dusting of sand and a little sunburnt, and he was turning around to study his back when Buck opened the door and stepped into the room, his eyes lighting up.

"Ooh," he said with a grin, reaching out for him. "This is what I like to see."

Eddie greeted him with a kiss, hugging him close. Buck's hands slid across his back and down lower, and Eddie murmured in his ear, "Still time to cancel."

"Not a chance." Buck pressed a kiss to his shoulder, and then pulled away slightly, frowning at him. "You're sunburned," he said disapprovingly. "I told you to reapply."

"Yeah, yeah," Eddie replied, rolling his eyes. "I still look good, right?"

Buck let out a breathy laugh. "Are you fucking kidding me? You're the most gorgeous man on the planet."

"Will you still love me when I'm all wrinkled?"

"I'll still love you when your balls are down to your knees and you've got liver spots," Buck promised, and sealed it with a kiss. "Come on – you need to cheer up a bit, babe. It's a party, and we don't want them to worry about us."

Eddie nodded, hugging him close. "Okay."

"Okay." Buck kissed his cheek, but slid both hands down to grab his butt. "Oh yeah, that's the good stuff."

Eddie laughed. "Fixated," he said. "Total fixation."

"I can think of a lot worse things to be totally fixated on."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hen**

"Happy birthday!" the group shouted as Eddie entered the bar, holding Buck's hand with a tense grin on his face – he was never happy to be the centre of attention.

"Thank you, thank you," he said, ducking his head with embarrassment. "This was unnecessary."

"It was very necessary," Buck announced, kissing his cheek. "Let's have some fun!"

Hen stood beside Karen and Athena and watched as Bobby warmly embraced Eddie, slapping his back affectionately. Eddie was smiling, but he was gripping Buck's hand tightly, and there was an air of sadness around them both. Something was wrong, Hen realised.

"What's going on?" Athena asked her with concern. "They're not as happy as they usually are."

"I don't know. They were off at work the other day as well," she replied thoughtfully. "I meant to ask Eddie but we were busy all day."

"Surely there's no trouble in paradise," Karen said, leaning in close to Hen. "Not with the boys."

Hen let out a laugh, shaking her head. "Oh, god no. Things might be off, but it's nothing to do with their relationship – I still see them sneaking kisses whenever they think no one is around. Slightly more openly now that Cooper is no longer with us, but still. Discreet."

"As long as they're okay." Athena sipped her wine, her eyes trained on them. "Something is definitely going on. They are clinging to each other."

Buck had an arm around Eddie's shoulders as they spoke with Chimney and Maddie, but he was doing most of the talking. Eddie was leaning against him, smiling, laughing where appropriate, but glancing up at Buck for reassurance every so often. That was very unlike Eddie, who was usually so easily confident, and Hen pursed her lips with concern.

She spotted Sophia making a beeline for the boys with a couple of beers, which they accepted, though Eddie made some kind of remark to her that made her roll her eyes and walk away from them, shaking her head.

Hen exchanged a look with Athena. "Let's go ask Sophia."

"Or maybe just wait until they tell us," Karen suggested, but it was too late – Hen and Athena located Sophia chatting with Josh, and flashed him apologetic smiles as they dragged her away.

"What's going on?" Sophia asked, already a little tipsy. "Is everything okay? Athena, is that a new dress? Your boobs look _amazing_."

Athena let out a laugh, and nodded approvingly at Sophia. "I knew I liked you."

"Everyone does," Sophia replied nonchalantly. "What's going on?"

"Oh, we just wanted to see how you're going," Athena said. "How's everything with your ex?"

"He's still a dickhead," Sophia said dismissively. "But it's fine."

"Has he been in touch with you?" Athena asked worriedly. "You know it's a breach of the restraining order if he's been in contact."

She shook her head. "He hasn't," she replied, without meeting Athena's eyes. "Everything's okay."

_Oh girl, we can see right through you_ , Hen thought, raising her eyebrows. Athena missed nothing, but it wasn't the right time or place for a discussion about Sophia's abusive ex-husband. Hen decided to change the subject, and asked, "How are you enjoying being a 911 dispatcher?"

Sophia let out a laugh, and shrugged. "Honestly – I do like it, and I like the people I work with, but… I don't think that I can do this forever. I think… it's the kind of thing where it would gradually wear me down, like… I had this call the other day, where…" she swallowed hard, shaking her head. "A mother called because her little boy had fallen in the pool and he wasn't breathing, and… I don't know what happened there. She hung up before I found out if he was okay. And I'd never tell the boys – please don't say anything to the boys," she said confidentially, lowering her voice, "and I'd never say anything to my sister either, but… I came home that day and hugged the kids a little tighter."

"Sophia, we've all been there," Hen replied gently. "Believe me. Every single person here tonight has experienced that."

She nodded ruefully. "Yeah, I know. And I know they'd understand, but I just don't like people worrying about me."

"They just care about you. We all do," Athena said, giving her hand a squeeze. "So you come talk to me about that awful ex-husband of yours anytime you need to, all right? You just let me know. You've got my number."

She smiled gratefully at Athena. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. How are the kids liking being in LA?"

"Oh, they love it," she said enthusiastically. "They're so happy. They love their school, and god, do they love living with Buck, Eddie and Christopher. I think we'll be with them for a while – I would genuinely feel bad about taking them away from Buck; they just adore him. He's so great with them."

Hen chuckled. "Oh yeah, he loves kids. Denny and Nia love him as well."

"It won't be long until they have another one of their own," Athena added.

Sophia glanced around – the boys were off chatting with Bobby and Michael, totally distracted. "Yeah, well," she said in a low voice. "Maybe not. It's so expensive, you know?"

Athena met Hen's eyes briefly, and then nodded. "That's true, but I thought Buckaroo had his inheritance."

"Yeah, I think they put a lot into the house," Sophia replied. "So I don't know what they're going to do at this stage. I don't think they've made any decisions yet."

"Soph!" Maddie called from near the stage. "Come sing a song with me!"

"Coming!" Sophia shouted, and gave them an excited grin. "I'll talk to you guys later!"

They watched her hurry through the crowd to Maddie, who pulled her in for a one-armed hug.

Athena turned to Hen, arching her eyebrows. "Okay, well. Now we know."

"They must be so disappointed," she replied worriedly, gazing over at Buck and Eddie. Buck's arm was around Eddie's waist, rubbing his back in small circles. "And you know these things take a long time. If they don't have the money now, what's going to change in a year or two? They own that house, and it still needs work done. Christopher has school tuition to think about. Stuff will continually come up."

"That's a lot of optimism from you," Athena replied, shaking her head. "Anything could happen. Buck's parents are rich."

"Buck doesn't talk to his parents anymore, at all. They're not going to give them any money." Hen sighed. "I mean, there's nothing we can do. Let's just try to make this a good night for them."

* * *

Buck wasn't sure what the agreement _was_ , but suddenly, he and Eddie were being plyed with alcohol. First Karen brought them over a couple of beers, and once they'd finished those, Chimney pressed another two into their hands. When Sophia arrived with tequila shots, Buck tried to fend her off, but Eddie snatched the glass off the tray before he could and downed it in a gulp.

Buck thought, _well, if he's getting drunk, I guess I will too._

* * *

All thoughts of trying to stay sober enough to have sex went out the window after Eddie's first tequila shot – god, he loved the stuff. He really did. He tried not to drink it too often, but he figured it was his birthday, and he was having a good time, and… he just wanted to numb things, a bit.

The tequila worked – he felt looser, freer, like some of his tension had oozed away. It was his birthday! He was there with his husband, who was quite literally the most stunning man on the planet (that might've been the booze talking, but he _loved him_ ). Good music was playing, and Buck was smiling at him, and he realised that things weren't so bad.

Buck dragged him out on the dancefloor, and Eddie slid his arms around his waist and gazed at him adoringly – he couldn't imagine his life any other way, with any other person. Buck made his life better in every single way.

Sophia arrived with another couple of shots, and they downed them in unison, right as a fast song kicked in. Buck swung him out and pulled him back in again, laughing, and he didn't care who was around or what they looked like – all he cared about was the smile on Buck's face. Pure joy.

* * *

Buck was… a little drunk, but not too bad. Like, the world was blurry, but… he could still make good, rational decisions. Like when he decided they should take a break from dancing and drink some water, and eat a little food.

And he was sober enough to lead everyone in a rousing chorus of ' _Happy Birthday'_ as Eddie cut his cake, though after two glasses of champagne – and a furious make-out session with Eddie in the back corner of the room – he was feeling a little wobbly on his feet.

So he decided they should eat some cake – well, that he should feed Eddie some cake, and that Eddie should also feed him some cake, which they did… and then Sophia gave them another couple of tequila shots and he thought, _well, why not?_

And that was one of his last coherent thoughts.

* * *

Buck was _so beautiful_.

He was like, the most beautiful thing that Eddie had ever seen and he couldn't stop _looking at him._ And Buck was looking right back at him with big blue eyes, soft pink lips and the prettiest red birthmark on his eye and Eddie just kept touching his face and kissing him and telling him how beautiful he was.

A little voice in the back of his head told him that he was drunk, but all he could really focus on was Buck's _face._

"And like, if we were in the olden times, and Michelangelo saw you," he said, very seriously – they were alone in a booth together, worshipping each other – "he would paint you on the roof of that church."

Buck gazed at him blearily. "The uh… Sis… Sister chapel? What's it called?"

"The um… place with the angels on the ceiling," Eddie replied, resting his head on Buck's shoulder. "The little fat baby angels with the bow and arrow. What're they called again?"

"Cherubs."

"Yes. Because you kinda look like that with your big blue eyes." Eddie downed the last of his beer, and gazed at Buck again adoringly. "God, you're so beautiful."

"I can't believed you _married me_ ," Buck replied, resting his hands on his shoulders. "Out of all the people! You married _me._ "

"I didn't like anyone else; I only ever liked you the most of anyone," Eddie said, slurring his words. "Because you make me happy. And you're so _beautiful._ "

"No, _you're beautiful._ "

"No, you are the most beautiful."

"We married each other."

"We did, it was awesome. We made a really good decision."

"Because we love each other," Buck said, grasping Eddie's shoulders with both hands. "Because we like, love each other so much."

Eddie nodded. Buck was making _a lot of sense._ "Yeah, because… you hated me at first."

"No, I just wanted to sleep with you," Buck retorted, and then let out a laugh. "Like, you were like, in that room… with your shirt off… what's that room called again?"

He thought for a moment, and then snapped his fingers. "Locker room."

"Yeah! And I saw you… and my heart… and my dick… they were talking to each other," Buck said, leaning in to kiss him again, "and my dick said it wanted you. It still does."

He frowned. "And your heart?"

"No, it wants you more!" Buck exclaimed, smushing Eddie's face with both hands. "Because you're my _soul mate._ And – my dick mate."

Eddie snorted with laughter, kissing him again. "God, you're so funny and smart."

"I _know._ "

* * *

**Bobby**

Buck and Eddie were furiously making out in a booth, completely wrapped up in each other.

He let out a sigh, raising his eyebrows at Chimney. "Buck told you not to let them drink too much."

Chimney held up his hands in a shrug. "You think I have any control over either of those two? They do what they want. Sophia keeps putting drinks in front of them."

Sure enough, Sophia set down another two drinks on their table – cocktails in short glasses – and Buck drunkenly said, "Sophia, are you like the alcohol angel? You should be on the roof too!"

"Yeah," Eddie agreed, reaching for the fresh drink eagerly. "Right up there with the fat baby angel things."

"Cool, thanks guys," Sophia said with a grin, and rejoined Maddie, Hen and Karen.

Athena slipped in beside him, her hand on the small of his back. "Well, I know what's bothering them," she said quietly. "The surrogacy thing. Looks like it's not going to happen."

Bobby hissed sympathetically. "Too expensive?"

"Way too expensive." Athena glanced over at them – they were frantically kissing again, Buck practically on Eddie's lap. "But I feel like they're happy with just each other."

"No, Eddie wants a big family," Chimney said, shaking his head. "Buck mentioned it to me the other night at work. They're both pretty disappointed."

"I'll talk to them about it on Monday," Bobby replied, sipping his soda water. "They can drown their sorrows tonight, and let their hair down."

"I'm pretty sure they'll regret it in the morning," Athena remarked, shaking her head disapprovingly.

* * *

"And d'you know what," Buck slurred at Eddie. "We don't even need anything else."

"We don't," Eddie agreed. "We don't need _anything_."

"We got each other; we got Christopher. We got a cat."

"We got an awesome cat. Like, the best cat."

"Oh, we should get one of those robot kitty litter things for him! He'd love that."

"Yeah, we should _definitely do that_ ," Eddie agreed enthusiastically, fumbling with his phone. "You wanna order it now? Is it on Amazon? What's the point in saving money, right?"

"There's no fucking point," Buck replied drunkenly, draping himself over Eddie's shoulder. "Because money can't buy you love or a baby, especially when you don't have enough of it."

"No. So we should just get a fucking robot kitty litter machine," Eddie said decisively. "Because it'll… how does it… what does it do with the poop?"

A shadow fell across them.

"Boys," Athena said, her hands on her hips. "What are you two doing?"

"Nothing," Buck whined. "We're not doing _anything._ "

"You're very drunk, and I couldn't help but overhear you talking about buying a robot for your cat."

Eddie shook his head. "We are _sober._ "

"Very sober," Buck agreed, downing the last of his drink. "Type in robot cat litter machine and see what comes up. It's like, round? I think. I don't know. I saw a YouTube video but I don't remember what happens to the poop."

"Boys," Athena said sharply, tapping the table with her fingernail. "No big purchases."

"It's cheap!" Eddie protested, holding his phone out so she could see. "Less than five hundred! Sold."

Buck gasped. "We should get _two._ "

"No!" Athena exclaimed, trying to snatch Eddie's phone away, but he hit the Buy it Now button and cheered.

"Done!"

"Oh god," Athena groaned, rubbing her forehead. "Tell me you only ordered one."

"I only ordered _one_ ," Eddie said to Buck, who nodded sagely. "The cat only needs one robot."

Buck draped his arms around Eddie's shoulders and gazed at him adoringly, and then whispered, "We should get a robot vacuum too."

"Ooh," Eddie murmured, looking at his phone again. "Wait – these things don't like, talk to you, do they?"

"No, grandpa," Buck laughed, as Sophia set another two drinks down on the table. "Soph! The magical drink fairy!"

She blew them a kiss and disappeared again.

"Boys," Athena said, leaning on the table. "Pace yourselves."

Eddie waved her away, reaching for his fresh drink. "So baby," he said, leaning in close to him again. "What kinda vacuum do you want?"

* * *

**Josh**

"You guys are so cute!" he shouted over the music – a very drunk Buck and Eddie were slow-dancing together, totally wrapped up in each other.

"We know!" Buck replied with a bright, happy grin. He was a little more sober than Eddie, but not by much.

"We should all hang out some time," Josh said, leaning in close so they could hear – not that he expected they would remember any of the conversation. "Come to a gay bar? Meet some new people?"

Eddie shook his head slightly, and then buried his face against Buck's neck. Buck hugged him and said, "He's shy. I'm not! We could definitely do that."

"Yeah, you guys should like, come to Pride and stuff," Josh continued. "Get amongst the community."

Eddie shook his head again, but Buck said, "I'll convince him. We haven't been to Pride together at all, have we, babe?"

It was clear to Josh that Eddie had segued into a very drunk and cuddly but mostly silent phase of existence, content only to be with Buck, but when Sophia emerged from the crowd with shot glasses, Eddie downed it in one gulp, and then smiled up at Buck adoringly.

Buck downed his shot as well and kissed Eddie firmly. "You're so fucking hot," he said drunkenly. "I'd marry you again right now."

Eddie laughed, and Buck spun him around – though they both stumbled a little unsteadily, and clung to each other, giggling incessantly.

Josh wanted to roll his eyes at how sickeningly cute they were, but settled for shaking his head with a chuckle. He spotted Maddie seated near the dancefloor, nursing a glass of wine, and headed over to join her. "Have you ever seen two more in-love people?" he asked, taking the seat beside her.

She laughed. "Eddie's not usually so demonstrative. They've been all over each other all night."

Sophia arrived, passing Maddie a cocktail and taking the seat on the other side. "So I've given them like… seven shots of tequila each, plus a bunch of other drinks," she said, cringing at Maddie. "Is that too much?"

Maddie rolled her eyes. "I don't know, Soph – they can hardly stand upright. Do you think it's too many?"

As if on cue, Buck and Eddie stumbled again, laughing hysterically.

"They're big strong firefighters, they're fine." Sophia sipped her drink and then leaned across Maddie's lap to talk to Josh. "So what happened with that guy you met last week? The cute one with the dimples?"

"Oh yeah," Maddie said eagerly. "Did he call you?"

Josh beamed, and then nodded. "He did. His name is Henry; he works at an art gallery downtown and we had dinner last night together at a very nice restaurant."

"Pictures," Sophia demanded. "I need to see what we're dealing with here."

Josh brought up Henry's Facebook profile and passed the phone to Maddie. Both women scrutinised him, and he waited, holding his breath until a final, approving nod.

"He's very cute," Maddie said. "Did he line up a second date?"

He bounced a little in his seat and said, "He did, we're going to the ballet."

"Oooooh," Maddie and Sophia said in unison, with matching grins on their faces.

"The ballet, very fancy, very nice," Sophia added, passing the phone back to him. "I can't wait to meet him."

Buck and Eddie suddenly stumbled past them, giggling, hand-in-hand. They disappeared down the corridor to the bathrooms, and Maddie groaned, covering her eyes. "Oh no."

"I bet I know what they're up to," Josh said wickedly, as Maddie cringed beside him.

"Oh, leave them alone," Sophia said dismissively. "They've both been total downers lately. Let them have a good time."

* * *

Eddie pushed Buck up against the cubicle wall, unbuckling his belt. They were kissing messily, pawing at each other. He was so drunk his head was spinning, and all he could concentrate on was Buck – he just wanted more Buck, all over him.

"I want you," Buck practically growled at him, shoving his hand down the back of Eddie's jeans and grabbing his ass. "I want you to fuck me."

"I'm gonna," he whispered back, struggling with his fly, just wanting to get his hands on Buck's dick.

The door to the bathrooms banged open and Bobby called, "Boys, come on. The bouncer saw you two come in here; he told me they'll kick us all out. Come out, right now."

Buck groaned. "We're not doing _anything!_ "

"Guys, come on. Please. I know you're both a bit drunk, but come outside and get some air, all right?"

"Can't even make-out in a bathroom stall with my husband," Eddie grumbled, leaning in for another kiss.

Bobby rapped on the door. "Boys. Right now. Let's go."

"One second!" Buck shouted, and cupped Eddie's face with both hands, kissing him hungrily.

* * *

**Bobby**

Bobby led his two very drunk and handsy firefighters outside. Eddie was draped all over Buck – not unusual for drunken Eddie – but Bobby was disappointed that Buck was just as inebriated as his husband. Usually it was one or the other, but tonight, they'd both decided to go down together.

"What's going on?" he asked them, shoving his hands in his pockets, deciding to give them a chance to tell him themselves. "We can all see that something is wrong. You two haven't been out of each other's sight all evening."

Buck groaned. He was standing behind Eddie, with his arms wrapped around his front. "Nothing's wrong! We're just having fun."

"Right." Bobby eyed them. "Come on, Buck. Talk to me."

Eddie groaned, dropping his head back against Buck's shoulder. Buck said stubbornly, "We're just letting our hair down," kissed Eddie's cheek, and swayed from side to side with him in his arms.

It was plain to Bobby that they were drowning their sorrows in alcohol, and so he said carefully, "You know, whatever it is that has you both upset, it'll be okay. You have your friends and family around you, and we can all figure it out together."

Eddie grimaced, turning around in Buck's arms. Buck hugged him and said, "We're fine. We bought a robot kitty litter machine. We are _good._ "

Bobby eyed him, and then said, "Okay. If you're sure."

"We're sure."

"Then maybe take it easy on the drinks, okay?" he suggested. "You're both pretty drunk."

"I'm fine," Eddie remarked, his voice muffled. "I'm good."

"Yeah, you are," Buck agreed, kissing his temple. "We should _dance._ "

"Yeah, let's do that."

Bobby followed them back into the bar, and they immediately made a beeline for the dancefloor – intercepted by Sophia, who handed them two bottles of water. Relieved, Bobby went to join Athena, Michael and David, but kept a watchful eye on the boys for the rest of the night.

* * *

Eddie had absolutely no idea what time it was or what was going on, but somehow they'd found themselves in the back of Bobby and Athena's car. He was in the middle between Buck and Sophia, and he couldn't keep his hands off Buck, who was gazing at him adoringly.

"Okay, so when I was giving them drinks tonight," Sophia announced, "I did not take into consideration the fact that I would have to share the backseat of a car with them home."

"They're too drunk to do anything at this point," Bobby pointed out from the driver's seat, his eyes trained on the road.

"I love you so much," Buck said to Eddie, slurring his words. "Like, the most of anyone in the world."

"Me _too_ ," Eddie gushed, swept in a world where only he and Buck existed. "We got married, remember?"

"We married each other so hard."

"It was great."

"All our friends were there!"

"Oh dear god," Athena groaned from the front seat. "Did you have to offer to give them a ride?"

"Yes," Bobby said bluntly. "Someone needs to get them home, and no one in the backseat is capable of ordering an Uber right now."

"Oh, I could," Sophia called, waving her phone. "I could do it?"

Athena glanced over her shoulder at her. "Sophia, you're a mother."

"Yeah, I know," she groaned. "And I'm really going to feel this tomorrow when they're all screaming at me and wanting stuff."

"But we have Christopher," Buck said emphatically, and Eddie nodded at him adoringly. "And he doesn't scream at us. He's the best kid ever."

"He is," Eddie agreed. "And we don't need anything else."

"No, we don't," Buck said firmly. "We're good, just the three of us. And yeah, he's gonna grow up and move out, and then we'll be fine."

"We'll be totally fine," Eddie continued, though even through a haze of drunkenness, his heart felt heavy in his chest. "We'll just go on holidays and stuff."

"We could go to _Iceland_ ," Buck whispered, his eyes huge.

Eddie nodded vehemently. "We'll go anywhere you want," he said, and kissed him again. "Anywhere."

"Italy?"

"Yep."

"Spain?"

"Guys, you could just do a European tour," Athena said from the front of the car.

"Anywhere," Eddie replied, ignoring her, totally focused on Buck. "We should get _married again._ "

Buck's eyes lit up. " _Yes._ "

"We could go to Vegas right now and get married again."

"No," two exasperated voices said at the same time.

"Not unless you take me with you," Sophia added with a giggle.

Buck grabbed Eddie's left hand and said, "We could book tickets."

"No," Athena said sharply. "Cut it out, boys. You're already married; you're not flying to Vegas on a drunken whim."

Eddie ignored her. "I'd marry you over and over," he said, as Buck nodded eagerly. "We could get married by Elvis."

" _Elvis._ I love Elvis!"

"I know you do," Eddie said, leaning in to kiss him again. "Let's book."

"No, no," Athena snapped, reaching over into the backseat to grab Eddie's phone. " _No._ "

Buck stuck his lower lip out in a pout, and then buried his face against Eddie's shoulder. "Athena," Eddie said drunkenly. "We can do what we want. We're _grown-ups_. We have a _mortgage_ , and we're not having any more kids. Let's go to Vegas!"

"I'll book the tickets for you," Sophia spoke up, already on her phone. "When are we going?"

"No one is going to Vegas!" Athena snapped. "That's enough. All three of you just be quiet."

Sophia's eyes widened, and she glanced over at them and mouthed, _'Yes, Mom._ '

Buck and Eddie snickered together, though when Athena shot them a look with high eyebrows, they quietened instantly.

* * *

**Maddie**

Chimney was already in bed when she finished checking on Charlotte, wandering over to take a seat on the side of the bed. "So I'm worried," she said, "and I know you're going to say, the boys are fine, they'll figure it out, but… they were both pretty upset tonight. They don't normally drink like that."

"Yeah, I know," he replied, setting his book down. "But we can't offer them help if they won't ask for it."

"Why can't we?" Maddie asked simply.

Chimney raised his eyebrows at her, but a look of horror quickly crossed his face. "No, you are not having a baby for them."

She laughed. "Not me," she said, shaking her head quickly. "No. But… I've been thinking about something, and I need to run it past you before I make a decision."

He sat up a little straighter, looking nervous. "What's that?"

"Well, we've been talking about our wedding, and how we don't want anything big or fancy – just a garden wedding, just our friends around us, that kind of thing," she replied. "And we've set a budget and it's pretty low – we're not even really having to dip into our savings."

"Right," he agreed, propping himself up on his elbow.

"And… the last time I spoke to Mom and Dad, they were very clear with me that Buck would not be receiving a single cent from them in their Wills, and I think he's fine with that," she continued. "But I'm not."

Chimney furrowed his brow. "Well, I don't see how you can convince them—"

"No, but I have Doug's money sitting in that account I never touch, just accruing interest. There's a lot in there now," she said, raising her eyebrows at him. "And… I would like to give half of it to Buck."

Chimney's jaw dropped, but he quickly recovered. "Wow. How much… is half?"

"About two hundred and fifty thousand. Maybe a little more." Maddie twisted the blanket in her fingers, letting out a breath. "Even though things are strained between my parents and I, they've made me their sole beneficiary. We're going to inherit a lot of money – not instantly, of course, but eventually. I was already planning on splitting it with Buck, but the money from Doug, that's just sitting there – it could be like… the first part of it. Buck and Eddie need money now, and I can help."

Chimney nodded pensively. "That money is yours," he said, and she met his eyes uncertainly. "I stake no claim over it or any money that's come to you from your parents or from Doug, Maddie. We have more than enough; you've put more than enough into this house and for Charlotte's future. If you want to give Buck money, I support you."

"They were so sad," she said, swallowing hard. "And I know it's not the end of the world, but any time he's talked about them having kids together, he's been so excited… They bought that big house. They've always been planning on having kids. I can make it happen for them."

Chimney smiled at her. "Buck's lucky to have you."

"I'm lucky to have him." Maddie let out a breath, and nodded firmly. "I'm going to talk to him about this tomorrow."

* * *

Buck had a beyond brilliant idea, and when he told Eddie the amazing, excellent, brilliant, best idea ever – he hesitated for half a second and then said, "Yeah, let's do it."

And that was how they ended up eating Pop Tarts in bed – and _then_ Buck had an even more brilliant idea, ran back down to the kitchen and then returned with the maple syrup, and poured it right onto his drunk, naked, sexy – super sexy, super hot – amazing, awesome husband.

He was still very drunk, he realised, but that didn't matter, because it was a very good idea to drizzle Eddie in maple syrup so Buck could lick it off him like he was a pancake.

"This is new," Eddie commented, as Buck licked a strike up his chest. "You're so sexy. You're like a honey bee."

Buck lifted his head, trying to think. "Do they eat syrup? No – I'm like a… what's that bird? The little flappy bird?"

Eddie screwed his face up. "Pigeon."

"No… they've got tiny little fast wings. What are they called?"

"Hmmm… sparrow?"

"No, _hummingbird_ ," Buck declared. "I am a hummingbird, and you are my pancake." He bent down to lick his stomach, satisfied with the analogy.

"I just don't think birds eat pancakes," Eddie murmured, "but I could be wrong because I can't remember what day it is."

"It's… your birthday," he said proudly, making sure he'd cleaned every last spot, smacking his lips together. "My sweet pancake," he said again, as Eddie blinked blearily at him. "So sugary."

"I might wanna be a waffle," Eddie retorted, flipping onto his side. "You don't know."

"I do know that you're a fluffy pancake with a cute butt," Buck replied, spooning up behind him. "Question – how much is the room spinning for you?"

"It's like a ride," Eddie mumbled. "At the carnival. Like a spinning ride."

"It's not just me?"

"No, we're on the ride together. I'm _sleepy._ "

"Me too," he murmured. "But did you have a good birthday?"

"I had the best birthday." Eddie's voice was low. "Because of you and Christopher. The best birthday ever."

That was music to Buck's ears, and he closed his eyes, hugging Eddie close. "Good."

~

His brain was on fire. Melting out of his skull.

And he was blind – no, just… having a hard time opening his eyes, mostly due to the unbelievable pounding in his head.

" _Oh my god_ ," he heard Eddie whisper. "Oh god, what the fuck. What the fuck did we do?"

"What did we do, Eds…" Buck groaned, pulling a pillow over his head. "I can't open my eyes. The world is too bright."

"It's burning into my brain and I think I'm dying."

Buck reached for him, but his hand landed on something crunchy but also… soft. He didn't want to open his eyes, and simply retracted his hand, shaking his head. "Oh no. Oh no, Eds. Something bad happened."

The bed shifted, and then Eddie said, in a voice filled with horror, "Did we eat… Pop Tarts in bed? There's food in our bed. You have frosting on your arm. Oh my god. I can't even remember anything…" he trailed off. "Did we have sex?"

_Did they?_ He thought for a second, searching his alcohol-addled mind for any memory of sex. "No." He opened his eyes and squinted at Eddie, who was sitting up in bed – naked, with what looked like chocolate on his shoulder.

"Are you sure? Why am I all sticky?" Eddie asked, throwing the covers off. "Oh god. We definitely… did something," he said, and touched his stomach. "Wait… is this maple syrup?"

"Oh no," he groaned. "Yeah, it is." Hazy memories of Eddie as a pancake flashed through his mind. "Oh god. I'm never drinking again."

Eddie rubbed his face with both hands, and then said, "Why? What… I don't remember?"

Buck sighed. "So… I kinda… remember thinking you'd be good as a pancake," he began, and Eddie groaned. "And I poured syrup on you and… licked it… and also… I'm pretty sure it's all over me, too."

Eddie collapsed beside him. "We're never drinking again. Ever. In our lives. Ever again."

"No, we can't be trusted." Buck gazed up at the ceiling unhappily – wanting to say to Eddie that he was just so damn fucking disappointed that they weren't going to have a kid together, but… not wanting to be the one to say the words out loud.

Instead he said, "I guess this means we better shower together and clean up."

"The hottest fucking shower in the world," Eddie muttered. "And you are scrubbing me clean."

"Deal."

* * *

**Sophia**

The boys were awake – she heard them talking in the bathroom, and then the floor creak as they passed by her bedroom. She hoped Buck was well enough to make breakfast, and that was enough encouragement for her to leave the comfort of her bed and start her morning.

She quickly showered, took a couple of aspirin – her head wasn't too bad, but that would change when the kids came home – and then descended the stairs, wondering what state the boys were in, and sniffing the air hopefully. No bacon yet, but she was sure there was some in the fridge.

Sophia stepped into the entryway to the kitchen, but neither of them noticed her. Buck was at the stove, a fry pan heating up and bacon and eggs ready and waiting on the counter beside him. Eddie was standing behind him with his arms around his waist, facing away from her, his head resting against Buck's back.

"We just need to talk about it," Buck said quietly, and at that, she slipped out of view, hiding behind the wall next to the door. "Let's just talk about it."

Eddie heaved a sigh. "You're disappointed."

"I'm really trying not to be, because I have you and Christopher. And like I've always said – you two are enough for me."

"Yeah, I know." There was a long silence, and then Eddie said unhappily, "I wanted a baby. I wanted your baby. I really wanted it."

"I know."

Sophia wondered if she should give them some privacy, but decided against it. She was a snoop; always had been.

After a moment, Eddie said uncertainly, "I guess I have to… let that idea go. Right?"

The despondency in his voice nearly broke her heart. She pressed her hand to her chest, listening as Buck said, "Yeah, I think… we both do. It's not going to happen."

Sophia winced, squeezing her eyes shut, suddenly emotional. These stupid, dumb, in-love boys sounded so fucking sad and she just wanted to make it all better for them, but… they needed their privacy, for now.

There was a sniffle, and to her horror she realised that one of them was crying. She heard Eddie say urgently, "Baby, it's okay. It's okay. We're okay."

Buck sucked in a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry; I just… keep telling myself that it's fine, when I really feel like… this dream we had is just… gone. And… we have to tell people that we're not going to do it? I feel like we've failed."

"I do too," Eddie admitted, and it was clear that he was on the verge of tears as well. "But you and Chris are all I need in this world, Buck. This _sucks_ , but we'll get through it. And we can go on holidays."

Buck let out a hiccupping laugh. "You know I love holidays."

"I know you do."

She heard them kissing, and was about to leave when she heard Buck speak again, still tearful, but optimistic again.

"You know what? This sucks, but I know we'll get past it. We have the greatest kid anyone could ever ask for, and we have each other. You two are all I need – anything else is just a bonus. I promise you, Eddie, I'll do everything I can to make our life together the best it can possibly be. I love you _so much._ I can't wait to go on adventures with you. When Christopher takes off on his own, we will have each other. You're all I need to be happy, I promise. Am I enough for you?"

"God, of course you are," Eddie said vehemently. "I love you more every single day."

"I just wish I didn't feel so shitty," Buck admitted, sniffling loudly. "I keep telling myself that it's okay, but it's not."

"Please don't cry," she heard Eddie plead. "It's okay. Come here; it's okay."

She decided to give them a couple of minutes, and sat at the bottom of the stairs. Her mind was made up; she didn't need any more convincing. She would sit them down when they weren't so hung over and tell them her decision.

The distinct sound of sizzling bacon filled the air, and she rose to her feet, thumping down the last few steps to give them some warning. Sure enough, when she stepped into the doorway again, they were waiting for her expectantly. "Morning," she said, leaning against the doorframe. "Sorry for poisoning us all last night."

"Yeah, you should be," Eddie muttered, narrowing his eyes at her. He was leaning on the opposite wall, his arms folded across his chest, dark circles under his eyes.

"You're an adult; you could say no," she retorted. "Not my fault you're a pair of lightweights."

Eddie began to snap at her, but Buck reached out and covered his mouth with his hand, glancing over at her. "Bacon or no bacon?"

"Bacon," she replied, tapping the side of her head. "So much bacon."

Eddie pulled away from Buck, playfully swatting his butt, before stepping over to the coffee machine. "I'm never, ever drinking with you again."

"Well, to be fair, you were mostly drinking with each other," she replied, taking a seat at the coffee table. "How's your head?"

"Never had any complaints," Buck remarked, his back to her, but he threw her a grin over his shoulder. "And you?"

"Likewise." Sophia eyed them, wondering if she should bring up her bold idea to bear them a child – but they were both quiet, Eddie making coffees and Buck cooking, and it didn't seem like the right time.

She would wait until all of their hangovers had diminished a bit, and bring it up with them later.

* * *

Buck's headache had subsided to a mild throb when the doorbell rang, and he opened it to find Maddie standing on the stoop. "Hey," he said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I wanted to see how your hangover is," she said, raising her eyebrows at him, "and to give you and Eddie a present." She held up a plastic bag with a box of doughnuts in it and added, "Thought some sugar might take the edge off."

"Thanks," he said, stepping aside to let her in. "Uh… Soph has the kids in the backyard because Eds and I aren't doing so well, but I'll make you some coffee."

Eddie stepped out from the kitchen, drying his hands with a towel. "Hey, Maddie," he greeted her, and suddenly looked worried. "Oh god, what did we do?"

She laughed. "Nothing to me, but something tells me you need to check your Amazon order history."

They exchanged a look, and Buck quickly fumbled for his phone, opening the app. He went to their order history and winced. "Oh god. Okay. We bought… a robot cat litter thing, a robot vacuum and…" he trailed off. They'd bought some sex toys. He had no memory of that.

Eddie's jaw dropped, but he quickly recovered and said, "Okay, well… some of those are things we needed."

Maddie was eyeing them curiously. "And the rest?"

"Are things we will make sure to open when there are no kids around," Buck said in a low voice, and locked his phone. "Okay. I need another cup of coffee."

"I'll just say a quick hello to Soph and the kids," Maddie said, leaving her bag on the dining table. "Be right back."

Buck handed Eddie his phone, who unlocked it and scrolled through their Amazon order again. "Um… there are a couple of um… pretty big things here, that… um…"

"I'm pretty sure they're for me," Buck murmured, pouring some fresh coffee into the machine. "I think… vaguely we talked about… um… you using things on me? And I was all for it."

"Oh." Eddie zoomed in, his eyebrows lifting. "Okay. All right. We need to make sure that nobody else opens this package."

"We'll get Sophia to intercept it. _I'll_ ask her," he said, when Eddie gave him a sharp look. "Don't worry."

"Okay." Eddie passed his phone back, letting out a breath. "I can't help but think we might've made fools of ourselves last night."

"You didn't," Maddie said from the doorway. "But we could all tell that something was going on with you two. You don't usually drink like that."

Buck glanced at Eddie, who pinched the bridge of his nose, as though trying to stem his headache, and said, "It's the surrogacy stuff. It's way out of our price range. And I feel like we had this idea of… how it was going to go, that we'd be able to afford it, but… we need to think about the future as well. Christopher's future, and making sure we have enough money to live comfortably."

"So we're… not going to do it," Buck said to Maddie, and shrugged at her. "It's just too expensive."

"Right," she said quietly. "So let's sit down and talk about it, okay? I might have a solution for you."

Eddie looked over at him, confused and concerned. Buck said, "Maddie, you've got your own family to worry about—"

"Last time I checked, I was still your big sister," she said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. "Two sugars, and a dash of milk. Then sit down."

Buck made her coffee and then took a seat at the table. Eddie slid in beside him, taking his hand automatically. "If this is about Mom and Dad…"

"It is, but loosely," Maddie said, sipping her coffee. "Okay. So when Doug died, I received a cheque for half of our marital assets. It was around half a million dollars, a little less."

Surprised, Buck said, "You never told me that."

"Because I honestly thought about tearing the cheque up, but I put it into an investment account and it's just been sitting there untouched the last few years, gaining interest." Maddie pushed the box of doughnuts towards them. "Buck, Mom and Dad have explicitly told me that you won't be in the Will. I know that for a fact. You can fight it, of course, but… is that something you would want to do?"

He shook his head. "You know I don't care about their money. Eddie and I talked about it; we'll get by on our own."

"That's what I thought." Maddie took another sip of coffee, and then said, "So what it means is that all of their money will come to me solely. And I was always planning on cutting you in on that – once it's in my name, I can do whatever I want with it. I was going to give you half."

Eddie's jaw dropped, but he recovered quickly, glancing at Buck uncertainly.

Buck whispered, "I… it's too much, I…"

"You can do whatever you want with it; you can give it all to charity – I don't care. The point is that even though things between us are strained right now, they're still trying to make contact, and I'm their only beneficiary, so… when they die – whenever that may be – we're going to have a windfall. But for now… I can help you and we can call it part of that windfall." Maddie gave him a long look. "I can give you half of the money from Doug, and… put it towards you two having a baby. Something good. Something positive, rather than it just sitting in an account and… making me feel dirty every time I get a bank statement. You two would have your baby. And I'd feel good about it."

Buck turned to Eddie, who said, "Maddie, we… we can't ask you to do this, or… you know, we're okay – we don't want you to feel obligated to give us money. We're not struggling; we just can't afford to go through surrogacy."

"I do not feel obligated," she reassured him. "Eddie, please believe me – I'm doing this because I want to. I have this money sitting there that I don't want to use on myself, and I would feel so much better about it if I knew it was going to two people I really love, who really need it."

Eddie fell silent, his brows knitted together. Buck glanced at him and said, "God, I just… I don't know—"

"Maddie," Sophia suddenly spoke up from the doorway, and they all jumped. "God damn you. I was going to make them a sweet offer and then you had to jump in with money."

Maddie blinked at her. "What?"

"Yeah, what?" Eddie asked, totally confused.

Sophia shrugged, and then pointed to her stomach. "Listen, this thing's good to go for a fourth. If you want a baby, I can give you a baby."

Buck's jaw dropped, but Eddie was the one who said quickly, "No, Soph – no, we can't—"

"Why not?" she asked bluntly. "I'm living here rent-free. You two are helping me take care of my kids. You've been supporting me for months. Why can't I give you this?"

"Sophia," Maddie said in a low voice. "Did you talk this through with Adriana?"

She nodded, stepping further into the room. "And she told me not to do it, but… I heard you two this morning," she said, shrugging at them. "You're so upset. You both want this. Why can't I give this to you? It's nine months of my life, and you guys get a kid. And I'll be the coolest aunt."

"I will," Maddie murmured, raising her eyebrows. "I'd be cooler."

"Gonna disagree with you there, babe," Sophia replied with a grin. "Look – I can go get checked out, but my doctors in El Paso all said the same thing – I'm a baby-making machine. And you know my pregnancies have all been relatively straightforward. I can do this."

"I'm still going to give you the money," Maddie said to Buck, who just shook his head at her wordlessly. "Because… I don't want it, Buck. I was thinking about giving it all to charity… but I can give it to you guys, for your future."

* * *

Eddie let out a breath, on the verge of tears, and said, "I just need a second to… process all of this," he said, pushing his chair out. "I'll be right back."

He left the room, ducking down the hall to the bathroom, Buck at his heels. Once they were inside the room with the door closed, Eddie leaned against the bathroom sink and tried to gather his thoughts.

Buck sat on the closed toilet lid, rubbing his face with both hands. "What are you thinking?" he asked, looking up at Eddie. "What do you want to do?"

"Okay, if we… say yes to Soph, then we don't need to go through an agency," he began, "and the money can go towards our kids' futures."

"Right."

"But… if we say yes to Soph, and something goes wrong?" he whispered, twisting his hands together. "She's already got three kids. What if something goes wrong, Buck? Or… what if she changes her mind after getting our hopes up? What if she falls in love with the baby and can't… separate herself from it? What if—"

"Hey," Buck said quickly, rising to his feet, pulling Eddie in for a hug. "These are all things we need to talk to her about before we make a decision. It's her decision, Eds… I know your sisters. They're determined women."

He nodded, resting his chin on Buck's shoulder. "Yeah."

"What we basically have here is both of our sisters with a solution to our problem," Buck said in his ear. "Which means they love us very much."

He let out a chuckle, clutching Buck tightly. "Which means we're pretty lucky."

"Very, very lucky." Buck kissed his cheek, and took a step back. "So let's go out and talk it through with them."

He nodded, but tugged Buck in for a soft kiss, and then turned to the sink. "Okay. Let me clean myself up here a bit."

Buck leaned against the wall, watching as he washed and dried his face. When Eddie turned to face him, he said, "We don't need to have a baby together. I will love you and Christopher no matter what. We don't need this, but it's okay to want it as well. And I do want it. I want to see you get the chance you missed out on with Christopher. I want to see you get to experience all of fatherhood again – you're such an amazing dad, Eddie. Christopher is so lucky to have you, and our baby – if we have one – will be so lucky as well. I want that. I just think it'd be cool."

Eddie laughed, reaching out to pull him into an embrace. "I think it would be cool too."

Buck kissed his cheek. "So let's go talk to the terrible duo."

They returned to the kitchen, holding hands. Maddie and Sophia were whispering furiously to each other, but they fell silent when they entered, turning to them expectantly.

"Well?" Sophia asked, and pointed to her stomach again. "You wanna put a baby up in here?"

Maddie groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose. " _Sophia._ "

Sophia laughed, pulling herself up onto the counter. "Go on. What's got you worried?"

Eddie glanced at Buck, and then said, "You've got three kids to think about. You and Martin are divorcing. What if… something happens to you, Soph? What then?"

Sophia sighed, exasperated. "First of all, rude of you to assume that I would just roll over and die."

"I didn't say that—"

"No, but you were thinking it."

Eddie let out a breathy laugh, leaning against Buck. "Fair."

"Right. Second of all, I will go to a doctor and get completely checked out before we do this, to make sure that everything is okay," she said. "I don't want to die either, you know. I don't want to leave my kids without a mother, and stick them with Martin – but I also want to give you guys the opportunity to be parents without it costing a fucking fortune."

"We would give you money," Buck offered.

She screwed her face up. "I do not want your money. I'm offering this to you for free. Listen – I'm living here now, right? And…" she trailed off, swallowing hard. "I'm too scared to move out of your house. I know I keep saying, I'll find something, but… I want to be here with you guys where it's safe. I feel safe here."

"You are under no obligation to give us anything in return for staying here," Eddie said firmly, and when Sophia opened her mouth to make a sarcastic remark, he cut her off with a swift, "Please – tell me you understand that Buck and I don't want anything from you, Soph. You're my little sister, and you and the kids need a safe place to stay, and that's here with us. You can stay as long as you like, and leave when you're ready."

Sophia let out a long breath and said, "Eddie – oh god, I'm gonna get real with you, okay? And like, maybe I might get emotional but we all just need to remain calm. I know I'm under no obligation. I know you would never ask me; I know you don't want anything from me. I know that."

He nodded pensively, clutching Buck's hand.

She paused, gathering her thoughts, and then said, "I did not have a good marriage. I was unhappy for most of it. My last pregnancy was fine, health-wise, but with everything else going on, it was fucking miserable. Do you know I didn't even let him into the room when I gave birth to Lila?"

He shook his head. "I was overseas."

"I know." Sophia smiled sadly at him. "What I'm saying is that… yeah, things were tough, but I had the kids. And those kids mean everything to me. I know how much you love Christopher. I know you missed out on the first five years of his life – and I know you've spent the last six years making it up to him, every single day. I know what a good father you are, and I know how much you and Buck love each other – and what great parents you are. And you're right – you don't need another kid. They're a lot of work, and sleepless nights, but… it's okay to want one as well. And I can give it to you! I am willing to give you this. Can you even imagine the winning combination of Diaz and Buckley genes?" she asked disbelievingly, and they all laughed. "This kid is gonna be a fucking _supermodel._ Come on you guys – seriously. Put a baby up in this oven."

They exchanged a look, and Eddie sighed and said, "If you're really sure… I mean…"

Sophia rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm sure. But I just want to be really clear about something – you don't get to boss me around when we do this, all right? Don't be feeding me pre-natal vitamins and monitoring my every move. And if I want pickles and ice cream, you will get me pickles and ice cream. And if I wake up at 3am and want Arby's – you will get that for me, Eddie. Do you understand?"

"We will set up an account with Uber Eats and you can order whatever you want," Buck said magnanimously. "If that's okay with you."

She grinned. "That seems like a good deal to me – but listen, seriously, again – I know I've been putting you out and this means another year, maybe more, of us all living together. Is that really okay?"

"Well, it'd be rude for us to kick you out while you're carrying our baby," Eddie said dryly.

Sophia let out a disbelieving laugh, her eyes lighting up, and she looked around before whipping a pen at him. " _Jerk._ "

The pen sailed harmlessly over their heads, but Eddie warned, "Mom said not to throw things in the house, Soph."

She searched for another weapon and finally picked up an apple, waving it at them threateningly. "Mom's not here, _Edmundo_."

"Okay, this mom is here," Maddie interjected, holding up her hands. "Ceasefire, both of you."

Sophia rolled her eyes, dropping the apple back in the fruit bowl. "Fine. The point is that… I need you, and I have something that I can offer you, which will make me feel less guilty about needing you."

"You don't need to feel guilty about needing us," Eddie said gently. "I would've never asked you to do this. We talked about using your eggs, but the idea was always that we were going to find a surrogate to carry the baby."

"Yeah, but you know me, and this is way easier," she replied firmly. "My eggs. Buck's sperm. A big ol' turkey baster. Get it up in there, boom. Pregnant."

Maddie let out a laugh. "A turkey baster?"

"Well, I'm not having sex with him. He's not my type."

"Hey," Buck protested. "Offence taken."

"Really?" Eddie asked him dryly. "Offence? To that? Baby, you're _my_ type."

Buck grinned at him, placated. "Offence rescinded."

Sophia gave them a determined look. "Eddie, I want to do this," she said firmly. "I can do this. You can have a baby – and you're not going to have to deal with an agency, or strangers, or any of that. And yeah, granted, I hated being pregnant the last time, but… I can go through it again for you. You guys both give so much of yourselves to other people… you've given me so much, and the kids… knowing they've got two uncles they can trust, who love them, who are there for them no matter what? That's priceless. Let me do this. Please."

Buck's grip tightened on his waist, but Eddie said, "What if you change your mind?"

She shook her head. "You know I won't."

"What if Mom or Adriana tries to talk you out of it?"

"Oh please, I don't care what Mom thinks. And Adriana knows about this already."

Buck gave him a gentle squeeze. Eddie leaned against him and said, the words almost tumbling out, "Okay, but only if you're sure."

Sophia beamed at him. "I'm one hundred percent sure," she replied, leaping off the counter, practically dancing over to them and throwing her arms around them both. "And as you both know, I make some pretty beautiful kids."

"Yeah, you do," Buck agreed, kissing her on the cheek. "Thank you, Soph."

"Don't mention it, Buckaroo."

* * *

Buck left Eddie and Sophia talking seriously in the kitchen, and walked with Maddie out to her car. "Well, she kinda stole your thunder," he said with a grin.

Maddie nodded. "She always does," she replied, linking her arm with his. "But I'm still giving you the money."

"You don't have to—"

"It's just sitting there, Buck… every time I log into my account, I see it there, and I think of him… I would like it to go to someone I love, for something good," she said, squeezing his arm. "I talked to Chimney about it, and he agreed. I'll transfer it to you, and you can… make a really beautiful nursery for your baby. Or go on a nice family holiday together before the baby is born – whatever you decide to do. It's your money."

Close to tears, he nodded. "Thank you."

Maddie smiled warmly at him. "You know I would do anything for you," she said, touching his cheek. "To make you and Eddie happy. I watched you guys last night, trying to convince yourselves that you didn't want this. And you would've been fine, because you love each other, and you love Christopher, but… you'd always wonder, what if? What if we had that baby? What would life have been like? And now you don't have to wonder."

He nodded, glancing over at the house. "Thank you," he said again. "I don't know what else to say."

Maddie pulled him in for a hug. "You don't have to say anything," she said, patting his back. "I just want you to be happy, Evan. That's all."

~

Once Sophia was distracted with the kids again, Buck led Eddie upstairs to their bedroom, pulling the door shut. He'd done a pretty good job of containing his emotions, but once they were alone, he crumbled. "I can't believe that they're doing this – I can't believe; I never thought—"

"I know, I know," Eddie whispered, wrapping him up in a hug. "I know. God, we're so lucky."

Buck buried his face in Eddie's shoulder. "I thought it was over, and now… it might actually happen."

"It's going to happen," Eddie promised him. "We're going to have a baby. A little blue-eyed Diaz."

"Are you gonna be disappointed if this kid comes out with brown eyes?" Buck asked him, pulling away, brushing the hair off Eddie's forehead.

Eddie smiled at him. "No, because it's gonna be _our kid_. And we're gonna make an amazing kid, Buck. You've seen how well Christopher has turned out."

"He does set the standard, that's for sure," Buck agreed, little butterflies of excitement building in his stomach. "Oh god, this is big. This is really big."

"So big," Eddie agreed, leaning in to kiss him. "Sleepless nights, diaper changes, screaming babies… are you ready for all that, my love?"

Buck nodded, full of enthusiasm. "Bring it on."

~the end, for now~

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone - I'm going to be taking a short hiatus from this series (during the actual current show hiatus) to work on some other things, but never fear - I will definitely be returning to this. I just have some other ideas for stories I want to write that will include Season 4 of the show. It's easier for me to work on this series when the show is airing because it doesn't include any show canon.
> 
> Thank you all for reading and don't worry - this universe is far from over. ❤
> 
> ~~**~~**~~
> 
> Thank you to Kat ([cinematicnomad](https://cinematicnomad.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr) for all your help!
> 
> The title is from [Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles](https://youtu.be/srwxJUXPHvE)
> 
> Talk to me @ Tumblr: [woodchoc-magnum](https://woodchoc-magnum.tumblr.com/) \- my inbox is open!


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